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ACAT-France, in collaboration with the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
When arbitrariness prevails
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE IN SRI LANKA
JUNE 2012
with the financial support of the European Union
ACAT-France, in collaboration with the Asian Legal Resource Centre
JUNE 2012
When arbitrariness prevails
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE IN SRI LANKA
This document was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole
responsibility of ACAT-France, and under no circumstance may they be deemed to reflect the position of the European Union.
English translation: MY Translations Ltd (www.mytranslations.co.uk)
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Executive summary
Three years after the conflict between Governmental forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
came to an end, ACAT-France, in collaboration with the Asian Legal Resource Centre, wanted to provide
an overview of the phenomenon of torture in Sri Lanka using the testimony of those involved: victims, human
rights advocates, lawyers and doctors. The findings are devastating. The use of torture and ill-treatment
remains routine, daily and endemic; the impunity of authors of torture is generalised.
Torture is used by security forces across the country to, for example, extract information, obtain false
confessions to close criminal cases or extort money or favours. Furthermore, the situation is worrying for
those suspected of having ties with the LTTE. They are arrested and detained, sometimes in secret, for an
unlimited period without access to a lawyer or their families. The use of cruel and degrading treatment is also
frequent in prisons and seems to act as a form of detention management.
Although the Government continues to tell the international community that it is implementing a zero tolerance
policy as regards torture, it must be acknowledged that these claims are only empty shells. There is a total lack
of sincere political will to eradicate these practices. The 1994 anti-torture law has become virtual and has been
replaced by an illegitimate regime which encourages confessions obtained by force, secret detention
and immunity for the security forces.
Despite the thousands of cases of torture documented by NGOs and submitted to the justice system, the latter
has only passed four sentences for torture since the anti-torture law was adopted 18 years ago. The judiciary
has collapsed in thrall to the political authorities. All attempts to fight impunity are hampered. There are no
investigations following allegations of torture. The courts no longer exercise independent judicial control in most
cases and the Attorney General protects State officers accused of torture by blocking criminal cases.
Victims and witnesses are subjected to intimidation and reprisals. Some have been killed or have disappeared
after being kidnapped. In February 2012, a man was kidnapped in front of his wife and children in broad
daylight by men armed with assault rifles. He had complained to the Supreme Court after 28 months of
arbitrary detention and torture and was supposed to testify two days later before the Court, implicating senior
police officers. He has not been seen since. Against this background, many people prefer to remain silent,
considering that it is dangerous and pointless to complain.
A number of local NGOs have developed initiatives to provide legal and psychological assistance to those requiring it.
They are trying to overcome, in a limited way, the failings of the State which has no public health policy
in terms of rehabilitation for victims of torture. However, it is difficult for local NGOs to promote human rights in
the country. They are regularly denounced as “traitors” and “enemies of the State” by Government representatives
because they dare to criticise the offences committed by State officers or the inaction of institutions.
The collapse of the rule of law and the denial of justice can only encourage the use of torture and a
continuation of the illegal acts committed by State officers.
The Sri Lankan authorities must open their eyes at last, end torture and ill-treatment and ensure that their
authors are severely punished.
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Sommaire
Foreword
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Definitions: Torture and ill-treatment
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Background: A shattered rule of law
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Chapter 1. A widespread practice of torture
1. Analysis of the practice of torture 2. The institutions responsible for torture and ill-treatment Chapter 2. Legal protection against torture:
when arbitrary and exception prevail 1. Virtual anti-torture law 2. When the exception becomes the rule: the impact of the
Emergency Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act
Chapter 3. Systemic denial of justice
1. The judiciary under the control of the Executive 2. Inefficiency of complaint and inquiry bodies 3. The difficulty of gathering medical proof in cases of torture 4. Threats and assassinations of plaintiffs 5. No effective justice before the High Court and the Supreme Court 6. Compensation and rehabilitation 7. Alternative remedies: international bodies 8. FOCUS: Civil society activism
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Chapitre 4. Recommendations to the Sri Lankan authorities
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Bibliography
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About ACAT-France and ALRC
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A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Foreword
Within the framework of a project funded by the European Commission called “Strengthening the investigation,
information, alert and follow-up mechanisms for cases of torture and other ill-treatments”, ACAT-France
is publishing this report to provide an overview of the phenomenon of torture in Sri Lanka.
The report aims to analyse the practice of torture since the end of the conflict. It does not therefore consider human
rights violations and torture committed during the hostilities between the Governmental forces and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in May 2009. Significant pressure from the international community
has concentrated on the need to investigate accountability for the abuse committed at the end of the war and
establish a reconciliation process in the north of the country. This is absolutely indispensable to combat impunity,
enable the victims of these mass crimes to obtain justice and therefore ensure sustainable peace.
Nevertheless, the evolution of the current human rights situation in Sri Lanka must also be considered.
Numerous violations have been committed since the conflict ended and they continue to be perpetrated
with impunity across the country.
Within the framework of this project, ACAT-France has gathered information on the use of torture in Sri Lanka
since the conflict ended. In particular, a mission composed of Christine Laroque, Asia programme manager
at ACAT-France and Sanjeewa Weerawickrama, Attorney-at-Law and legal adviser at Asian Legal Resource
Centre (ALRC) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), travelled to Sri Lanka in June and July 2011
to meet the various players involved in preventing and repressing torture, particularly victims of torture, their
families, doctors, lawyers, psychologists, human rights activists or journalists. For security reasons relating
to the organisation of the mission, ACAT chose not to inform the authorities of its aims and therefore did not
request any official meetings. Further, ACAT’s representatives did not visit the north or east of the country
which were subject to restricted access by the Ministry of Defence at the time.
Information gathering and the mission itself were achieved in collaboration with the ALRC and the AHRC,
working in partnership with ACAT-France on this project. AHRC has been observing the human rights situation
in Sri Lanka since 1986. It documented more than 1,500 cases of torture between 1998 and 20111.
For their own protection, the names of some sources have not been provided systematically.
1
Sri Lanka: A report on 323 cases of police torture, 24 June 2011 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-085-2011
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A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Definitions
Torture and ill-treatment
Before analysing the phenomenon of torture itself, the definition of acts which can be classed as torture and
those classed as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should be clearly set out. The distinction
is not always easy in practice, such as for example in the case of police violence, beatings and blows received
during arrest or detention. Depending on the circumstances surrounding a given act, it will be classed as torture
or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984.
For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person
information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having
committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any
kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a
public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from,
inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
Using the dynamic interpretation of the act of torture retained both by international human rights organisations and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights2, torture supposes the confluence of four
constitutive elements.
The first rests on an act or omission causing severe physical or mental pain for the victim. The second element
relates to the intentionality of the author. Mere negligence is therefore dismissed at this stage. The third element
focuses on the aim of the person responsible who might act for different reasons: to obtain a confession or information, to punish, intimidate, pressurise or discriminate (this list from the Convention against Torture is only indicative). Finally, the last element supposes that the person responsible acted with public authority. However, the State
can be also held responsible for acts of torture committed by individuals acting in a private capacity when it is seen
to have failed in its obligations to investigate and sanction. The dividing line between torture and cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment rests both on the aim of the person responsible and the vulnerability of the
victim. Further, the duration of the act, its physical and mental effect, the gender, age and state of health of the
victim are also parameters to be taken into account.
In this report, use of the word torture for acts described by victims rests on a broad meaning of the word. Torture
has been preferred to ill-treatment when victims’ accounts refer to a struggle with law enforcement agencies
when they had been arrested, handcuffed or injured and subject to beatings and insults, particularly to discriminate against them.
2. “Interpretation of torture in the light of the practice and jurisprudence of international bodies”, UNVFVT, 2009.See also the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment inflicted on persons deprived of their liberty. Doctrine adopted by the ICRC Assembly
Council on 9 June 2011, http://www.icrc.org/fre/assets/files/review/2011/irrc-882-policy-torture-fre.pdf
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Similarly, the word torture has been retained for particularly serious cases – blows with sharp instruments, deprivation of medical treatment or food, repeated burns – where it was used to extort confessions from victims, punish them
or humiliate them. In this report, use of the word torture is therefore in line with the dynamic interpretation made in
international texts, in view of our increasingly low threshold of tolerance as regards certain acts which were previously
classed as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment but are now seen to be torture3.
In order to facilitate reading of the report, the term ill-treatment has been used as a substitute for cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.
3. The Selmouni vs. France affaire, Application No. 25803/94, Judgment of 28 July 1999. “The Court has previously examined cases in which it concluded that there had
been treatment which could only be described as torture (see the Aksoy v. Turkey judgment cited above, p. 2279, § 64, and the Aydin v. Turkey judgment cited above,
pp. 1892-93, §§ 83-84 and 86). However, having regard to the fact that the Convention is a “living instrument which must be interpreted in the light of present-day
conditions” (see, among other authorities, the following judgments: Tyrer v. the United Kingdom, 25 April 1978, Series A no. 26, p. 15, § 31; Soering v. the United
Kingdom, cited above, p. 40, § 102; and Loizidou v. Turkey, 23 March 1995, Series A no. 310, p. 26, § 71), the Court considers that certain acts which were classified
in the past as “inhuman and degrading treatment” as opposed to “torture” could be classified differently in future. It takes the view that the increasingly high standard
being required in the area of the protection of human rights and fundamental liberties correspondingly and inevitably requires greater firmness in assessing breaches
of the fundamental values of democratic societies.”
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Background
A SHATTERED RULE OF LAW
The three years since May 2009 and the end of hostilities which had lasted for nearly forty
years between Governmental forces and the armed opposition group, the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have been marked by a weakening of the democratic institutions of
the Rule of Law, attacks on civil society, incessant violations of human rights and impunity
for those responsible.
Weakening of the Rule of Law and democratic institutions
In January 2010 the President of the Republic, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was re-elected for a new term. At the same
time, the main opponent of the elections and former head of the army who had overseen the last military offensives
against the LTTE, Sarath Fonseka, was arrested. The President immediately dissolved Parliament and the legislative
elections in April 2010 saw the presidential party triumph, obtaining a two-thirds majority of Parliament.
The policy pursued by the Government has considerably weakened the separation of powers, democracy and
fundamental freedoms. The running of the country is dominated by the family of the President of the Republic.
Two of his brothers occupy the key posts of Defence Minister and Economic Development Minister while a third
is Speaker of Parliament.
The 1978 Sri Lankan Constitution provides for the centralisation of powers within a very powerful Executive. The
18th amendment to the Constitution, adopted in September 2010 thanks to the domination of the presidential party
in Parliament, further strengthened the Executive and further weakened democracy and freedoms. This constitutional change, which was heavily criticised by civil society, opened the door to President Rajapaksa to aspire
to a third term in 2016 and increased his control over key institutions such as the police, the justice system, the
Human Rights Commission and the Electoral Commission. The judiciary has lost all independence over the last
decade and is today subject to constant political interference4.
End of the State of Emergency, impunity
and persistent human rights violations
In August 2011 the State of Emergency was lifted after nearly forty years. It has had very little effect in practice
as most of the Emergency Regulations remains in force through the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism
Act. Government officials responsible for serious human rights violations enjoy total impunity. This impunity
reaches the highest level as the President himself benefits from absolute constitutional immunity5. This protects
any measures or orders given by the Presidency from the possibility of legal proceedings, even if they constitute
a violation of human rights. This constitutional provision therefore protects members of the armed forces and the
police as their orders are given in the name of the Presidency6 .
4. See Chapter 3 of the report.
5. Article 35 (1) of the Constitution sets out that : “While any person holds office as President, no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him in any court
or tribunal in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him either in his official or private capacity.
6. See Basil Fernando, Gyges’ Ring the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka, Chapter 5 (August 2011).
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Since 2009 no progress has been made in terms of justice for the crimes committed at the end of the conflict.
Despite calls to set up an international investigatory commission, the Sri Lankan Government has constantly refused, denying that it committed acts of violence and claiming the success of its “humanitarian operation” within
the framework of a Zero Civilian Casualty policy7. In March 2011 a report by UN experts concluded that the last
phases of the conflict had caused “thousands of [civilian] deaths”, that accountability was imputable to both sides
and that they might resemble “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”8. Instead of examining the facts, the
country’s authorities led a campaign to denigrate the report. A Sri Lankan Commission to “examine the causes
of the conflict” and establish a “process of reconciliation” (the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission –
LLRC) was set up by the Government to appease critics. It was immediately criticised for its lack of independence
and restricted mandate.9 Its report, released in December 2011, was also criticised because of its conclusions
which removed any responsibility from the armed forces. However, in its recommendations, the Commission
proposed measures to guarantee a Rule of Law which, although elementary, are crucial in the current context.
And yet members of the Government indicated in spring 2012 that only certain “achievable” recommendations
would be implemented and that the Commission had exceeded its mandate. This reaction does not augur well for
significant improvements towards a Rule of Law.
In this context, serious human rights violations continue in the country. Sri Lankan civil society regularly denounces extrajudicial executions, abductions, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detentions, use of
torture and numerous other attacks on fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of expression.
Civil society under threat
In its dealings with international institutions and NGOs, the Government consistently denies that it infringes human rights. It tirelessly upholds its view that the propaganda coming from Tamil Tigers based overseas is deliberately misinforming these organisations and seeking to manipulate them to divide the country.
Sri Lankan civil society is regularly subjected to threats and intimidation to keep it quiet. Activists who have
denounced the crimes committed during the conflict and are seeking to obtain justice are particularly targeted.
Although the number of cases of violence and the imprisonment of journalists has dropped in the last few years,
the press is still muzzled. Journalists have left the country because of repeated death threats. Significant selfcensorship reigns within the media on subjects considered to be sensitive. As regards NGOs, the official body
charged with recording and monitoring them (the National Secretariat for NGOs) was placed under the supervision of the Ministry of the Defence in 201010. All NGO activities are monitored by that unit. Details of any projects
carried out or funding must be put before the Ministry.
The authorities regularly label human rights activists, independent journalists and political opponents “traitors”,
“enemies of the State” and “terrorists affiliated to the LTTE”. The State’s highest representatives participate in
such denigration. In January 2012 the President of the Republic declared that “though we have created a peaceful
atmosphere, there are certain elements, trying to ruin this peaceful situation”.11 Members of the Rajapksa family
have threatened civil society on several occasions. In July 2011 the editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper was
threatened on the telephone by President Mahinda Rajapska in person following the publication of an article which
set out cases of embezzlement involving the President and his son Namal Rajapkse, a Member of Parliament12 .
7. S
ri Lanka Ministry of Defence, Humanitarian Operation Factual Analysis July 2006 – May 2009, July 2011. http://slembassyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SriLankan-Humanitarian-Operation-Factual-Analysis.pdf
8. UN,Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, March 2011: http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/Sri_Lanka/POE_Report_Full.pdf
9. For more information see under Chapter 3, II, B, 3 “ The artifice of the Ad hoc Commissions of Inquiry”.
10. W
ebsite of the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations: http://www.ngosecretariat.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&lte
mid=27&lang=en
��
. Daily News, 20 January 2012: http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/01/20/news20.asp
12. Reporters sans Frontières, 2 August 2011, The President of Sri Lanka personally called the Sunday Leader to intimidate him : http://fr.rsf.org/sri-lanka-le-president-dusri-lanka-02-08-2011,40731.html
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Civil society is regularly subjected to intimidation. In January 2012 a group of activists en route to Jaffna to
demonstrate against the number of enforced disappearances in the north of the country were harassed and subjected to repeated intimidation by the police and the army before finally being prevented from reaching Jaffna13.
The previous month 42 people (human rights activists and members of the opposition) were arrested and detained by the police while they were preparing to demonstrate on international Human Rights Day.
Members of civil society can also be victims of enforced disappearances or extrajudicial executions. Over the last
few years, several journalists and activists have disappeared and been assassinated14. These threats continue. On
9 December 2011 two human rights activists who were preparing a press conference in Jaffna for international
Human Rights Day were kidnapped15. In February 2012 a human rights activist, Herman Kumara, was followed by
a group of men in a van. Fearing a kidnapping, he managed to hide and subsequently learnt that his neighbours
had then been interrogated about him by the unidentified men who were looking for him. He had previously received death threats about which he had lodged a complaint. No investigation or protection measures had been
implemented by the police16.
A virulent campaign to denigrate and threaten journalists and human rights activists was carried out during a
session of the Human Rights Council in spring 2012 in Geneva – a session during which a resolution against Sri
Lanka was adopted. Since the start of the year, various State media outlets (newspapers, websites, TV, radio)
have led a campaign to slander Sri Lankan activists, naming them (sometimes using a photograph), accusing
them of treachery, supporting terrorist groups and receiving money to work against the country’s interests.
People were encouraged to destroy their homes and barely disguised calls to murder were issued. During the
UN session, the Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs himself publicly threatened to “break the limbs” of
activists in Geneva if they dared to return to Sri Lanka17.
Faced with this situation, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned against any reprisals towards
these individuals and denounced “an unprecedented and completely unacceptable profusion of threats, harassment and intimidation of Sri Lankan activists who went to Geneva to participate in the debate, including the 71
members of the official Sri Lankan Government delegation”18.
It is against this background that the practice of torture and abuse continues with impunity in the country.
13. Southern political activists en route to Jaffna for protest demonstration obstructed by Army and Police at Puliyankulam, 22 January 2012: http://transcurrents.com/
news-views/archives/7430
14. The body of the human rights activist Pattani Razeek was exhumed in July 2011 nearly 18 months after his disappearance. The journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda
disappeared in January 2012 during the presidential elections after publishing articles criticising the President’s politics.
15. OMCT, Sri Lanka: Enforced disappearance of Messrs. Lalith Kumar Weeraraja and Kugan Muruganandan, 15 December 2011,http://www.omct.org/human-rightsdefenders/urgent-interventions/sri-lanka/2011/12/d21560. A Minister declared in December 2011 that they had been detained, not kidnapped, without revealing their
place of detention. In March 2012 the Government denied detaining them before a Court of Appeal. In April 2012 information revealed that they might have been
detained in Colombo by the police.
16. ACAT-France, urgent appeal (5-11 March 2012) Sri Lanka, Death threats against a human rights activist http://www.acatfrance.fr/appel_urgent_detail.
php?archive=ok&id=380
17. BBC, 23 March 2012, Sri Lanka minister Mervyn Silva threatens journalists http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17491832
18. See Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), Briefing note on Sri Lanka / human rights defenders, March 23, 2012http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12008&LangID=E
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A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
CHAPTER 1.
A WIDESPREAD PRACTICE OF TORTURE
ACAT has observed that torture remains widespread in Sri Lanka. Three years after
the hostilities ended, there has been no real decline. Use of torture and ill-treatment
is routine, daily and endemic, and affects the entire country.
The phenomenon of torture is ancient and commonplace within society and the country’s
institutions. It is particularly deeply-rooted for structural and institutional reasons.
Insurrections in the south, north and east of the country in the 1980s plunged the country into a long internal
armed conflict. This led to significant militarisation, the restriction of fundamental freedoms and increased acts
of violence. Torture and abuse was widespread.
However, the conflict is not the only or even the main cause of torture. The NGO Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has documented more than 1,500 cases of torture in Sri Lanka since 199819. These cases analyse
the use of torture and abuse committed by the police, essentially in the south of Sri Lanka where most of the
population is Sinhalese. AHRC deliberately limited its field of research in this way to demonstrate that the use of
torture is generalised across the country and not restricted to a single region such as the north or the east; it is
a result of the collapse of the institutions and the legal system and is in no way limited to the conflict.
The political and institutional context connected to the collapse of the Rule of Law (particularly the dissolution of an
independent and efficient judicial system), the involvement, complicity or inaction of the authorities as regards human
rights violations, and the impunity which prevails in the country all allow the phenomenon of torture to continue.
The Sri Lankan government’s inconsistency relating to the policy and practices about the eradication of torture
appears to be a result of structural contradictions. The 1978 constitution concentrates the power entirely in the
hands of the Executive President and this has resulted in the weakening of all the public institutions in Sri Lanka.
These institutions are subject to politicization, as they are directly under the political control of the government
and deprived of their functional independence.. The parliament of Sri Lanka, having realized this structural
contradiction, made an attempt to limit the impact of it by way of adopting the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment was meant to enable the possibility of recruitment, promotion disciplinary control and the
dismissal of public servants only on the basis of considerations of merit. A consultative process was set up with
a constitutional council, the members of which were to be selected in a manner to represent all political parties.
Among the public institutions which were brought under the constitutional council’s mandate were the police,
the public service, the election commissioner’s office, and the judiciary. In 2010 this Amendment was made inoperative by the 18th Amendment. Thus the absolute control of the Executive President over all appointments of
public servants was reinforced. Due to this structural situation, the control over the public services on the basis
of objective criteria has become unenforceable.
The Sri Lankan authorities deliberately close their eyes and refuse to recognise the extent of the phenomenon of
torture. Declarations from officials regularly deny it. In June 2012, a police spokesman, questioned by a media
about torture prevailing in police stations, denied any form of torture being used to gain confessions or information from suspects: “Generally as a practice torture never takes place in Lankan police stations […] Torture is
often misconstrued by the media and the public”.20
The government refuses to admit its responsibility or take steps to prevent and suppress such practices. And yet
it continues to praise Sri Lanka policy on torture at the international level.
19. AHRC,Sri Lanka: A report on 323 cases of police torture, 24 June 2011 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-085-2011
20. Daily Mirror, 4 June 2012, Police don’t practice torture http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/19132-police-dont-practice-torture-sp-rohana.html
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Thus, in November 2011 the Head of the Sri Lankan delegation assured the UN Committee Against Torture that
“Sri Lanka has at no time sought to invoke any justification for torture nor has it resorted to or acquiesced in
torture. As a matter of state policy and practice, the Government of Sri Lanka has been maintaining a policy of
zero tolerance on torture, as is evidenced by the meaningful measures taken to curb acts of torture. Constitutional
guarantee on torture elevate it as a fundamental non-derogable right not to be subjected to torture or inhuman
and degrading treatment. It is an absolute right. The commitment to honor the obligations under the Convention
Against Torture has continued in earnest, and the progress in many areas has been exemplary”.21
A number of Sri Lankan anti-torture NGOs continually denounce cases of torture. The Asia Human Rights Commission relays numerous cases. In 2011 it published a hundred or so. This was only the tip of the iceberg. Most victims
remain silent because of fear, intimidation or the absence of an effective mechanism to obtain justice. Potential
announcements by the authorities remain empty shells. Further, at the end of 2011 the Committee Against Torture
was said to be “seriously concerned about the continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture […]
notwithstanding the new circumstances prevailing since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […] and
the State party’s public commitment to the Committee that it has a zero-tolerance policy on torture”.22
1. Analysis of the practice of torture
Analysis of the practice of torture in Sri Lanka shows that most of the victims come from impoverished backgrounds, are often arrested at random by law enforcement agencies during investigations and are generally tortured or subjected to abuse to make them confess to a (sometimes minor) offence, to extort money from them, to
make them assume responsibility for a criminal affair which has been entirely fabricated by the police or to make
them admit to a supposed affiliation to the LTTE.
a. Victims
Torture can affect anyone, whatever their social standing, profession, ethnicity, age or religion. A business man,
a lawyer or a soldier can find themselves victims of an act of torture. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority
of cases of torture affect people from impoverished backgrounds who are more vulnerable to the authority of an
official because of their lack of political or economic influence and their inability to fight against injustice or an
abuse of power.
Victims’ accounts of torture mainly come from men. Women are also victims, although probably to a lesser extent,
but it is difficult to gather their accounts. They are afraid to testify and lodge a complaint, particularly if they were
subjected to sexual violence because they risk becoming a victim twice over if they are also rejected by their
families and society. Torture does not spare juveniles either.
The phenomenon of torture also affects Sinhalese groups as much as Tamils. Further, despite the end of the conflict an indeterminate number of Tamils has spent years in secret detention with an increased risk of being subjected to torture.23 They were arrested during and after the conflict, suspected of being affiliated to the LTTE and
were kept in detention during the years which followed. Those who were freed have testified to acts of torture.24
In 2011 and 2012 Tamil Sri Lankans who had returned to their country, sometimes after having their requests for
asylum dismissed, indicated that they had been tortured and subjected to ill-treatments upon their return to Sri Lanka
in order to confess to presumed links with the Tamil Tigers. A Tamil returned from the United Kingdom and arrested
on 29 December 2011 alleged that he was beaten and burnt with cigarettes by soldiers during his interrogation. His
21. M
ohan Peiris, President’s Counsel and former Attorney General, 47th session of the UN Committee Against Torture -Introductory statement by the leader of the
delegation of Sri Lanka, 8 November 2011, p2 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/statements/StatSriLanka47.pdf.
22. UN CAT, Final Observations, November 2011, §6 http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT_C_LKA_CO.3-4_fr.pdf
23. T
he Sri Lankan authorities indicated in February 2012 that of the 4,000 people arrested on suspicion of participation in terrorist activists, only 225 were still being
detained. (See the statement by the Sri Lankan delegation to the UN Human Rights Council in February 2012: http://www.mea.gov.lk/index.php/media/3345-statementby-the-hon-mahinda-samarasinghe-mpminister-of-plantation-industries-and-special-envoy-of-the-president-on-human-rights-leader-of-the-sri-lanka-delegation However,
the names have not been made public, preventing verification of this data. Similarly, the Government indicated that fewer than 900 LTTE leaders were still being
detained without charge or access to a lawyer in the so-called “rehabilitation” centres controlled by the army, while refusing any access to those centres or to
publish the list of detainees.
24. See the UN Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka (March 2011), §214-215, 220, 228, 233-234 ; See also the UN
Committee against Torture, Final Observations- Sri Lanka, CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, §8 (November 2011) ; Amnesty International, Sri Lanka: Briefing to the UN Committee
against torture (October 2011); Freedom from Torture, Out of the Silence: Ongoing torture in Sri Lanka 2009-2011 (November 2011); HRW, Legal Limbo: The
Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka (February 2010)
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
head was allegedly immersed in kerosene. He was also apparently hung by his feet and had his head immersed in a
bucket of water; pepper was allegedly applied to his head and his chest. These methods allegedly aimed to make him
confess to being a member of the LTTE.25 A note from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada corroborates this
kind of information and reports ill-treatments and torture for people detained at the airport and suspected of having
links with the LTTE.26
b. Aims of torture
Torture can have several aims. In terms of criminal investigations, Sri Lanka inherited a system from the colonial
era based on obtaining a confession or oral statement from suspects. This mechanism has been perpetuated
without investigation methods being modernised.
The failure to modernize criminal investigation system is due to several reasons. The 1978 constitution has
pushed the system backwards. It allows a complete political control over the investigation and therefore an increasing abuse of this process for political purposes, such as arrest and imprisonment of political opponents on
fabricated charges. The two famous instances of such politicization are the cases relating to Sarath Fonseka, the
former Army Commander, and J.S. Tissainayagam, a well-known journalist. However, there are a large number
of such cases relating to lesser known persons.
The abuse of the criminal investigation process for political purposes is also manifest through failures to effectively investigate certain crimes that are publically perceived as politically sensitive. The cases of the murder of
Lasantha Wickrematunga, the well-known editor of the Sunday Leader, the case of the disappearance of Prageeth
Ekenaligoda, the large number of cases relating to violent acts directed towards journalists, human rights activists and demonstrators, have not led to any kind of successful investigations or prosecutions.
Besides this, the department of the Attorney General has also come under severe criticism of being politicized.
This general problem relating to the crisis of the criminal justice system as a whole is a major cause for the failure
in the prevention of torture. Besides this, a further reason, which is common to many less developed countries,
is inadequate resource allocation for ensuring an effective system of criminal justice. The agencies relating to
criminal justice, such as the police and the Attorney General’s department are underfunded and lack the personnel and other resources necessary for the performance of their duties. The failed system relies on the use of
torture and ill-treatment on detainees as more or less the sole means of dealing with crimes.
The Emergency Regulations (in force from 1971 to 2011) and the current anti-terrorism laws have encouraged confession as a form of evidence within the criminal justice system and reinforced the use of torture for that purpose.
Torture today aims to extract a confession. It can also serve to punish or humiliate and reflects the arbitrary nature of the security forces. The examples below, although not exhaustive, are recurrent themes in the accounts
examined by ACAT.
To extract a confession or information
In many cases, it is a question of extracting a confession or information. The story of Pathma Kumara is an illustration of this. In January 2012 the family of the 22-year-old man learnt that he had been arrested by officers from
the Boossa military base and tortured to admit that he held weapons. During a search of his home during which he
was present, the family noted that his face was puffy and covered with black marks and that he found it difficult to
sit down. Transferred to the Polhengoda military camp, Pathma Kumara received visits from his family who noticed
that his face was swollen, that he had blood in his eye and that his fingernails were blue. He cried, saying that even
after admitting to possessing a weapon he continued to be tortured to admit to the existence of other weapons.27
25. This case and others were described in detail in a communiqué from Human Rights Watch on 25 February 2012 “UK : Halt Deportations of Tamils to Sri Lanka”:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/24/uk-halt-deportations-tamils-sri-lanka; Further, a group of British lawyers specialising in the rights of foreigners revealed that a
Tamil whose request for asylum had been rejected by the United Kingdom and who was sent home on 21 February 2012 was allegedly tortured upon his arrival in
Sri Lanka. During his interrogation, he was allegedly violently punched by officers, see Free Movement, Tamil returnee claims torture in Sri Lanka, 27 February 2012
http://www.freemovement.org.uk/2012/02/27/tamil-returnee-claims-torture-in-sri-lanka/.
26. The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sri Lanka: Information on the treatment of Tamil returnees to Sri Lanka, including failed refugee applicants;
repercussions, upon return, for not having proper government authorization to leave the country, such as a passport, 22 August 2011 http://www.irb-cisr.
gc.ca:8080/RIR_RDI/RIR_RDI.aspx?id=453562&l=e. Also of note, in a judgement made in September 2011 assessing the situation in Sri Lanka and the
risks as regards return, the Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland considered that political opponents, journalists, human rights activists, victims
or witnesses of serious human rights violations and people sent back from Switzerland supposed to have close contacts with the LTTE were “seriously
threatened by persecution”. Decision of the Federal Administrative Court E-6220/2006 of 27 October 2011 (in German) http://www.bvger.ch/publiws/
download?decisionId=9e02a071-17a2-4683-a9db-07ee43fd0dad; press release (in French): http://www.bvger.ch/medien/medienmitteilungen/00688/index.
html?lang=fr&download=NHzLpZeg7t,lnp6I0NTU042l2Z6ln1ae2IZn4Z2qZpnO2Yuq2Z6gpJCDdXt2g2ym162epYbg2c_JjKbNoKSn6A--)
27. Janasansadaya, Torture Prevalence in Sri Lanka – 2012 (February 2012): http://www.scribd.com/doc/80655124/Torture-Prevalence-in-Sri-Lanka-2012-Part-01-ByJanasansadaya
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
In the accounts of Tamil victims, often the purpose of torture is to extract an admission of a terrorist offence or
a supposed affiliation to the LTTE. A lawyer representing LTTE suspects told ACAT that he considered that the
use of torture against them not only aimed to obtain a confession or information but was also used to punish
them and break them because of an exacerbated racism against Tamils within the security forces.
To force a victim to assume responsibility for criminal cases
Victim accounts show that arrests are mostly carried out arbitrarily. Security forces do not necessarily have
material elements or evidence against them but they need to solve a criminal case or need to justify the arrest
subsequently. Torture or ill-treatment can then be used during questioning to fabricate false proof or force the
victim to assume responsibility for one or several criminal cases.
Ranjit Sumangala was detained for nine days in various locations and tortured so that he would admit to 21
cases that the police had not managed to solve. Arrested in December 2010 by police officers wearing civilian
clothes, he was initially taken to a cemetery where he was threatened with death and beaten up. Then, with
his eyes covered, Ranjit was taken to several places of detention that he was unable to identify, except for a
building located inside the Mirihana police station nicknamed the “torture chamber”. During his detention, he
was subjected to various repeated forms of torture: blows with feet, fists and rubber pipes, beatings, suffocation with bags full of chilli, hanging by his wrists with his hands handcuffed behind his back, etc. Despite such
torture, he continued to refuse to assume criminal responsibility for the 21 cases which had not been closed
by the police. When he was released, he was immediately hospitalised and then discovered that the police had
accused him in several cases.28
Fabricating charges is quite a common practice in Sri Lanka and has come under criticism from human rights
organisations frequently. The case of Sarath Kumara Nidos is an illustration. He was arrested mistakenly and tortured for several days by the police who demanded him to give back the gold they said he had stolen. He denied
the charges despite of several days of severe torture.29 Meanwhile, human rights organisations filed complaints
with police authorities and the National Human Rights Commission. When the police could not bring any charges
against him on robbery, instead of releasing him, the police filed fabricated charges accusing him of being in
possession of heroin, which thus preventing him from getting bail, as that is a non-bailable offence. It was after
many months of struggle by human rights organisations that Nidos was finally release. There are many other
well-known cases where police have fabricated charges on victims who complained about torture.
A policy of results and promotion
The police often fabricate cases in their entirely because of pressure related to the quota of cases to be solved
or with a view to obtaining a promotion. Within this framework, the police arrest someone at random and torture
him until they confess to a fictitious offence.
On 30 December 2011, in the middle of the street, police officers attacked Sisil Weerasinghe, a security officer
who was waiting for his bus to go home. They wanted him to admit to attempted burglary. Taken to the police
station, Sisil was beaten at length with cricket bats and a plastic pipe filled with sand. To end the torment, he
agreed to sign the documents which eventually accused him of drunkenness on a public highway. The next
day, he was brought before a judge and forced to plead guilty under pressure from the torturers who accompanied him.30
28. Janasansadaya, Mirihana Police brutally tortured and filed fabricated cases, 8 February 2011. http://www.janasansadaya.org/page.php?id=358&lang=en: see the victim’s
account (in Singhalese): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65OZcIwrGvE&feature=player_embedded
29. See
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Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Police Torture Cases, Sri Lanka 1998 -2011, case n° 246, p 295, June 2011
30. AHRC, Sri Lanka: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police, 19 January 2012 http://www.humanrights.asia/
news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-003-2012
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Arbitrary
Several victim accounts show that police officers were drunk at the time; they arrest someone arbitrarily and
subject them to acts of torture or ill-treatment without any apparent motive. They then force the individual to sign
documents removing their responsibility. One victim told ACAT how he had been beaten and subjected to inhuman treatment by drunk police officers. One evening in May 2011, drunk officers went to a religious procession
where an altercation broke out within a crowd of spectators. Just as Suppiah Sivukamar was going home with
his wife and daughter, he passed by the police officers who started to beat him violently, deciding at random that
he was responsible for the incident. After being subjected to blows, beatings and humiliation all night, particularly
in public, the police officers asked him to sign documents in which he had to recognise that he had been attacked
by an unidentified group of people and not by the police31.
Punishment and reprisals
Complaining about the actions of State officials or threatening to do so can lead to reprisals. In July 2011 Jayasinghe Arachchige Chathura Manohara called the police station on several occasions when an aggressive man was
standing outside his home in the middle of the night. Three police officers arrived very belatedly and Manohara
complained about their slowness and inefficiency, threatening to contact the district Senior Superintendent of
Police (SSP). He was beaten several times and taken to the police station. The Officer in Charge (OIC), who was
not on duty that evening, arrived drunk and in civilian clothes to participate in the acts of torture. After ordering
that all the windows and doors be closed and that no one should come in, he picked up a metal chair and beat
Manohara for twenty minutes. He then hit his head against the table until the protective glass broke and punched
him in the stomach. He ordered his men to undress the victim and asked him how he thought he could go and
complain to the SSP in that condition. Manohara was then hanged for an hour by his wrists and his ankles from
two wooden bars placed between the tables. When he cried out in pain at the blows, a cloth was forced into his
mouth, making him suffocate. The blows continued until the morning. He was then taken before a judge in the
afternoon and accused of obstructing the work of the police.
Influence of a third party
Numerous cases also show that police officers can inflict abuse on someone at the instigation of an influential
citizen who wants vengeance for a personal affair. ACAT met Suranji Sampath Kumara, arrested in February 2011
in the street by two police officers in civilian clothing and a third in uniform who hit him violently with truncheons,
threw him to the ground, punched him in the head and eyes and threatened to blind him. He was then dragged
to the police station and put in a cell without ever being told of the reason for this violence and his detention.
The wife of someone in his village, with whom he allegedly had a dispute, came later to make a complaint and
Sampath was forced, under pressure from the police officers, to sign a document that he had been unable to read.
The officers then asked him to recognise responsibility for the private conflict32 .
c. Methods
The methods described by victims almost always refer to blows with fists, feet or using blunt instruments such as
batons, metal bars, canes, cables, bottles or tubes filled with sand, truncheons or any object found in the place of
torture. Accounts also attest to suffocation and forced inhalation of petrol or chilli powder using a plastic bag placed
over the head and filled with these substances. A chilli paste might also be applied to the eyes or the genitals.
Accounts regularly refer to being stripped naked before being subjected to various kinds of abuse. Victims can
be suspended in various positions, particularly with their wrists tied to their backs. One can note the use of
the so-called Darma Chakkra method (the “wheel of life” in Buddhism), also called the “roast chicken” in other
countries: the person has his wrists and ankles tied and is suspended from a bar placed between his arms and
his legs and placed between two tables. Victims tell of being immersed in a basin filled with leeches. Some have
also been subjected to simulated executions, death threats or threats to their families.
31. Interview
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ACAT 7 July 2011
32. Interview
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ACAT 4 July 2011
19
20
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
The accounts gathered lead us to believe that the methods used can contain a more significant degree of violence
when the victim is Tamil, for example burns, cuts with sharp instruments, sexual violence, etc.
People arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences can be held for many months in secret which might explain the
indifference of torturers about using methods which leave marks on their victims.
Enforced disappearance as a form of torture
Since autumn 2011 there has been a revival of abductions followed by disappearances in Sri Lanka. The
victims are generally taken by force in a white van by armed men. At least 52 abductions, attempted
abduction, disappearances have taken place between January and April 201233. Most of the cases have
been reported in February and March 2012, that is during the UN Human Rights Council which took place
in Geneva. According to eyewitnesses and at least seven victims released, some of the abductors were
army soldiers and police officers, including Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers. Victims are taken away for questioning and are subjected to an enforced disappearance. Some victims were killed and
their corpse found. Most of the abducted victims remain missing.
At the beginning of 2012 the Supreme Court examined a complaint concerning the kidnapping of a man
by a group of individuals in a white van in Colombo three years before. The case revealed that those responsible were police officers in the criminal investigation division who had kept the man in detention and
tortured him in an unknown location for three years34 .
Individuals subjected to an enforced disappearance are denied all their fundamental rights, beginning
with the rights to freedom, physical integrity, security, recognition of their legal status and life. They are
removed from the protection of the law and are at the mercy of their abductors; they are often tortured.
International jurisprudence considers that enforced disappearance is, in itself, a form of torture.
Enforced disappearances are, sadly, an old phenomenon in Sri Lanka.35 The Government does not want
to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances and
has not included this offence in its legislation. The UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances in
particular has taken up nearly 5,700 cases for which the Government has never given an explanation.
The authorities remain silent or deny all responsibility, indicating that it concerns settling of scores or criminal kidnappings for a ransom, without investigating or taking steps to end this phenomenon. When those
presumed responsible are arrested, there is no investigation either or legal proceedings. In March 2012 the
Mayor of Kolonnawa escaped a kidnapping a few weeks after the disappearance of his brother. Those responsible, two of whom were soldiers, were quickly released and no investigation has been opened.
Not only is there a total absence of will by the Government to solve this kind of case and to end the violations committed; there is also some involvement by the Sri Lankan security forces that the authorities
cannot deny.36
33. Right
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To Life Sri Lanka, Disappearance in Sri Lanka between January and April 2012, June 2012
34. BBC, 13 January 2012,White Van abductee ‘tortured in police’: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2012/01/120113_white_van_torture.shtml
35. ACAT led a campaign to raise awareness about enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka in 2010: http://www.acatfrance.fr/campagne_sensibilisation.php?id=24
36. AHRC, 12 April 2012, Sri Lanka: Absence of political will to stop abductions: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-088-2012
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
2. The institutions responsible for torture and ill-treatment
In November 2011 the UN Committee Against Torture reported that it was “concerned at reports that suggest that
torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by State actors, both the military and the police, have continued in many
parts of the country after the conflict ended in May 2009 and is still occurring in 2011”37.
ACAT can confirm this observation. The information it has collected shows that the police, the army and the
prison administration are responsible for torture and ill-treatment.
a. Police
Most of the testimonies analysed by ACAT come from people tortured by the police, demonstrating the institution’s endemic use of the practice.
a.1. An institution responsible for numerous violations
a.1.1. Police torture: commonplace and generalised across the country
During interviews with NGOs, some police officers have recognised that it is commonplace to use cruel and
inhuman treatment, even acts of torture. They consider that these methods are necessary when dealing with
criminals and delinquents, believing that they will not confess if they are not subjected to such treatment. Police
officers do not always know where the limit lies between legitimate and proportionate use of force and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. A report published by Transparency International – Sri Lanka in 2006 shared this
analysis. It revealed that at that time 67.5% of the police officers questioned considered that “it [was] permissible
to violate human rights to some extent in order to prosecute a criminal who [was] a danger to society”38. Among
the factors contributing to the use of torture, the report pointed in particular to insufficient training in methods of
investigation, questioning and maintaining order.
These criticisms about the gaps in police training are still relevant in 2012. To overcome such deficiencies, various independent institutions propose training in human rights and international humanitarian law for the police,
the army and members of the prison administration39. Sessions generally include courses on prohibiting and
preventing torture. Police training can include a course on investigation and questioning techniques. ACAT has
also become aware of a draft human rights manual prepared by senior police officers which would serve to raise
awareness and train members of these institutions. When questioned about the impact of this kind of training
and such a manual on preventing torture, several individuals in charge of these programmes told ACAT that the
results were very mixed, mainly because of a lack of real political will at the highest level to end such practices.
The accounts of torture collected and analysed by ACAT show that the phenomenon is generalised in all districts
and most police stations. Victims’ accounts show that rooms or sheds within police stations are sometimes reserved for torture sessions. For example, an old building at the Mirihana police station in the district of Colombo
is considered to be a “torture chamber” by victims.
Accounts also underline the responsibility of several specialised police units such as the Criminal Investigation
Division (CID), the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) and the Special Task Force (STF), a paramilitary group of
the Police Department which regularly carries out joint anti-terrorist operations with the army. The fourth floor
of CID headquarters in Colombo in particular has the sad reputation as a place of torture. When recounting his
interrogation, a person who had been detained there described how a sub-inspector in the division had struck
him with his feet, punched him in the head, put a plank of wood on his head and knocked in nails, and threatened
him with Dharma Chakra40 .
37. UN Committee Against Torture, Concluding Observations- Sri Lanka, CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, §6 (November 2011). 38. Transparency International-Sri Lanka, In pursuit of “absolute integrity”: identifying causes for police corruption, p 83 (2006)http://www.tisrilanka.org/pub/pb/pdf/
TISL%20Police%20Project%20-%20English.pdf
39. See in particular the official list of human rights training received by the police and the army over the last few years as published by the Sri Lankan Government in
its answers to the Committee Against Torture in 2011: Government of Sri Lanka, Responses to List of Issues to be considered during the examination of Sri Lanka’s
3rd and 4th combined periodic reports on the Convention against Torture, §73-77, p 26-30.
40. AHRC, Sri Lanka: Criminal Investigation Department officers torture a man then attempt to kill him, 17 September 2010 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgentappeals/AHRC-UAC-143-2010/
21
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
a.1.2. Deaths in police custody
There are no official statistics available concerning deaths in police custody. The authorities allege that between
2006 and 2011 there were only two deaths and these were suicides41. However, according to information revealed
by the media and NGOs, since 2010 several dozen people have died in suspicious circumstances. The official
police version repeatedly includes the same elements: death is disguised as a suicide, an accident or an act of
self-defence. ACAT has been made aware of several cases whose circumstances suggest extrajudicial execution.
For example, the police spoke of suicide following the death of a man arrested in good health who died after 24 hours
in police custody in August 2010. The post mortem revealed numerous injuries related to blows42. A few weeks later
another man was allegedly found in his cell with deep lacerations to his stomach after three days in police custody.
After being transferred to hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. The police indicated that it was suicide. However, no
information about a serious independent investigation into these cases and their conclusion was released43.
Again according to the police’s official version, Asaka Botheju, who died in August 2011, allegedly fell into the
Kalaniya River and drowned when he took the police to the place where he had allegedly hidden a weapon. The
police provided no explanation as to how this former navy sailor and member of the Special Boat Service could have
drowned in front of the police officers’ eyes or what attempts had been made to save him. The authorities released
no information about the conclusions of a potential autopsy or the steps taken against the police officers in charge
of his custody44. Similarly, in November 2011 a young man was arrested by the Jaffna police and found dead a few
hours later. The police indicated that he had tried to run away and had fallen into a canal where he drowned. An
autopsy was carried out on his body at hospital which revealed forty marks from blows and injuries on his body. The
family, which recovered the body for the funeral, thinks that he was tortured during police custody45.
In July 2011 police officers attached to the Special Task Force in Monaragala announced that a man had been
killed in legitimate self-defence. According to the official version, he allegedly agreed to take officers to a cache
of weapons. Once there, an armed confrontation allegedly broke out and the Special Task Force officers were
allegedly forced to kill the suspect.46
The series of suspicious deaths at the hands of the police, the lack of investigations or public conclusions and the
lack of any disciplinary sanctions or legal proceedings against the officers in charge of police custody for these
cases all suggest that these people could have been tortured or extra judicially executed. The prevailing impunity
means that these scenarios may be continually repeated.
a.1.3. Use of excessive force
Several peaceful demonstrations were repressed by the police using excessive force in 2011 and 2012. Live
rounds against demonstrators have increased and caused death and serious injury.
In May 2011 approximately 600 people working in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) were peacefully demonstrating in
Katunayake against reform of their pension scheme. Hundreds of police officers were deployed in the Zone and
tried to disperse the crowd by firing lacrymogenic gases without warning and striking the demonstrators. Police
officers then opened fire using live bullets when the crowd had already dispersed. The police then entered the
Free Trade Zone by force and opened fire on the workers who had not been part of the demonstration. Many
people were arrested, placed in police custody and deprived of medical treatment despite sometimes severe
injuries. One demonstrator died from his injuries from bullet wounds because he was deprived of urgent medical treatment. More than 200 workers were allegedly seriously injured during this event. Sri Lankan NGOs have
denounced the excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment.
In February 2012 another demonstrator was killed by bullets from the Special Task Force when a large number of
police officers, soldiers and Special Task Force officers were deployed to repress a demonstration of fishermen
in Chilaw who were protesting against the increased price of petrol.
The use of live rounds by the police has been observed in other incidents where the use of force was dispropor-
41. Government of Sri Lanka, Responses to List of Issues to be considered during the examination of Sri Lanka’s 3rd and 4th combined periodic reports on the Convention
against Torture, §95, p 38
42. AHRC, Sri Lanka: A man is killed after being tortured by the Kiribathgoda police, 20 September 20, 2010. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRCUAC-144-2010
43. Divaina
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and Lankadeepa (Sinhala Language Newspapers) – 27 September 2010
44. AHRC, Sri Lanka: Former Navy sailor was found drowned under police custody, 16 September 2011. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRCUAC-169-2011
45. AHRC, Sri Lanka: Body of a custodial death victim was dumped in a river by Chunnakan police , 13 December 2011 http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/
AHRC-UAC-246-2011
46. Sri Lanka Guardian, 21 September 2011, Extrajudicial killing; impunity; rule of law. http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/09/extrajudicial-killing-impunity-rule-of.html
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
tionate. In February 2012, after the death of the fisherman in Chilaw, the Fisheries Minister, seeking to defend
the police officers, told the BBC that shooting at demonstrators was common practice within the police force47.
This statement, and the repetition of such events, has raised questions, particularly about whether the right to kill
had become an official instruction for police officers48.
Following the media coverage of the repression committed in the Free Trade Zone, the Inspector General of Police
resigned in June 2011 which was unprecedented49. The action of the police officers involved in the operation was
also criticised. And yet, his gesture and statement seem only to have served as a facade to appease tensions.
No significant steps were taken subsequently. Accountability in the chain of command in these various police
operations has not been established and no hierarchical superior has been troubled by the justice system or a
disciplinary procedure.
a.2. Reasons for problems
a.2.1. Structural difficulties
A criminal investigation system under political control
A structural difficulty arises from the political control over the criminal investigation system due to constitutional
reasons. As it is described in this report, the key investigation and prosecution mechanisms are placed under the
direct control of the Executive President leading to hindrances or politicization of criminal cases.50
Attachment to the Ministry of Defence
The Sri Lankan Police Department is a national, centralised institution managed by the Inspector General of Police. It employs approximately 89,000 officers in the country’s nine provinces. The Police Department is attached
to the Ministry of Defence. Since 2005 the Defence Minister has been none other than Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the
President of the Republic’s brother. Decades of conflict and the Government’s political strategy have progressively militarised the police. The Emergency Regulations, which were in force until August 2011, gave the Police
Department military prerogatives. The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), set up by the
Government after the war ended in 2009 and which released its conclusions in December 2011, recommended
placing the institution under the responsibility of a civil authority51.
Recruitment and resources
The criteria for recruitment for posts below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police, a senior rank, have
been criticised on several occasions, judged to be insufficient and unsuitable for choosing the appropriate skills
and profiles. Moreover, there is a lack of recruitment of Tamil or Tamil-speaking police officers, the police force
being mainly composed of Sinhalese officers. There is also an insufficient number of interpreters even though
documents are generally drawn up in Sinhalese by the police. Tamils who lodge a complaint or who are accused
of an offence are often unable to understand and check the content of the document. The Government has organised the recruitment of Tamil police officers, mainly men, but they seem confined to junior tasks.
Further, police officers complain that they lack resources and do not have modern means to carry out criminal
investigations (such as equipment for DNA testing, computers, computerised data and complaints, video equipment, vehicles, etc.). Moreover, they need to receive the appropriate technical training.
Corruption
There is very strong suspicion of the police because of daily abuse but also because of the institution’s deeprooted corruption. The police are exploited by the political and business worlds. Police officers are regularly
called upon to resolve personal conflicts or stifle cases and they fear being transferred or having their careers
blocked if they do not follow-up such requests. They also fear reprisals if they investigate or accuse a criminal
suspect “protected” by influential individuals.
47. AHRC,
Sri aLanka: Is shooting at peaceful demonstrators a government policy , 22 February 2012. http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-034-2012/
48. Sunday Times, Focus on Rights by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene, 19 February 2012, A government not bound by the law, http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120219/Columns/
focus.html
49. Sri Lanka TV, IGP Mahinda Balasuriya retires expressing resentment over the police action in the Katunayake clash, 1 June 2011 http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=5EBIB1dqf4o
50. See introduction of Chapter 1; see B Aims of torture (under Chapter 1 I.); see Chapter 3. See also Asian Human Rights Commission, Sri Lanka Chapter entitled
“constitutional entrenched impunity” in The State of Human Rights in Eleven Asian Nations 2010, p. 359, http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/books/AHRC-PUB001-2011/2010TheStateOfHRInElevenAsianNations.pdf
51. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation,§8.193 (p302) & 9.214 (p374) (November 2011).The Commission’s report notes that “the
Police Department is a civilian institution which is entrusted with the maintenance of law and order. Therefore, it is desirable that the Police Department be de-linked
from the institutions dealing with the armed forces which are responsible for the security of the State”. 23
24
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
The police are also responsible for numerous abuses of power and extortion of money. An individual can be arrested and accused of a real or fictional offence by a police officer, the aim being simply to extract a bribe.
Citizens judge the institution to be inefficient as regards maintaining order and they prefer to resolve their disputes themselves rather than turning to police officers.
Ineffectiveness of the existing remedies relating to violations of torture
There are significant deficiencies in the law, the legal procedures as well as in the complaint, investigation and
litigation process. They contribute to the ineffectiveness of prevention and repression of torture and explain how
the torture practice by the police continues unpunished. These deficiencies are described in detail in Chapter 2
and Chapter 3, but the following matters can be mentioned here: absence of a credible and functional complaint
and investigation mechanisms into torture; change of policy relating to torture and ill-treatment at the Attorney
General’s department; defects in judicial intervention for the protection of victims of torture; absence of a law
relating to compensation and a law relating to rehabilitation.
a.2.1. The loss of command responsibility and the absence of an independent body to monitor the police
Absence of command responsibility and supervision
Command responsibility is seriously lacking. The notion has been lost and therefore has considerably affected
the system of hierarchical supervision. It is the duty of commanders and superiors to take the necessary steps to
prevent their subordinates from using torture or committing human rights violations. They also have the duty to
punish those who do so. Although the Supreme Court developed jurisprudence in this direction about ten years
ago, Sri Lankan law has never incorporated this important principle in terms of criminal responsibility. Current
judicial practice shows that only junior police officers who are directly responsible for torture or extrajudicial
execution can be prosecuted. Senior police officers are not troubled. Even when senior officers have given the
orders or are present at torture sessions, investigations and legal proceedings never focus on them.
Such an absence of criminal responsibility has destroyed the meaning of hierarchical supervision, leading not
only to a serious deterioration of police professionalism and efficiency but also to tolerance of, or even encouragement to use, illegal methods such as torture. Disciplinary procedures and sanctions exist but they are not
implemented, except in rare cases when the case becomes a public scandal.
Lack of an independent body to monitor the police
In this context, an independent body to monitor the police is even more essential. A National Police Commission
was set up in 2002 after the adoption of the 17th amendment to the Constitution. This Commission, charged particularly with transfers, promotions and disciplinary measures, was also responsible for inquiries into complaints
against police officers. It had raised hopes but quickly fell victim to political restrictions and influence and was
unable to function independently or efficiently. It became inactive in 2009 after its members’ mandates were not
renewed. In February 2012 the Government decided to reactivate the Commission following the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. The President directly appointed its seven members52. One of the new commissioners quickly criticised the Commission’s restricted mandate which no longer
gave it the power to monitor appointments, promotions, transfers and disciplinary procedures53. It has kept the
power to investigate complaints made against police officers. However, its lack of independence is now prejudicial and risks damaging its work.
A Human Rights Division does exist within the Police Department. In particular, it aims to “to diminish human
rights violations committed by Police officers” and “register information about the human rights cases filed
against Police Officers and the Human right contraventions of Police officers”54. However, not only does this unit
have no independence, it seems ineffective.
52. In
��
conformity with the 18th amendment to the Constitution, adopted in September 2010, which allows the President of the Republic to control several important
institutions by directly and discretionally appointing the key posts.
53. Sri Lanka Mirror, 11 March 2012, National Police Commission, a big hoax, says its member: http://english.srilankamirror.com/2012/03/national-police-commission-a-bighoax-says-its-member/
54. See the Police Department website: http://www.police.lk/index.php/human-rights
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
b. Armed Forces
Torture and human rights violations committed by the army
The overwhelming nature of the acts of violence attributed to the army during the war has certainly disappeared
but human rights violations have continued for more than three years. The prevailing impunity for these crimes
and past violence is causing ever greater tension to rise between the army and the local population in the north
of the country. Victim accounts attribute responsibility for acts of torture to members of the armed forces. Some
indicate in particular that they were interrogated in army camps and tortured to confess to supposed membership
of the LTTE, sometimes jointly by soldiers and officers from the Terrorist Investigation Division or the Criminal
Investigation Division.
International NGOs have reported secret detention centres run by military secret services and paramilitary groups
used to torture and execute.55
The army is also accused of being guilty of a number of violations, essentially in the north of the country, particularly enforced disappearances, rape and the sexual and physical assault of demonstrators.
In August 2011 a hundred people were arbitrarily arrested and violently beaten by soldiers in the Jaffna region. In
early 2011 a series of unresolved assaults had been committed at night in the rural or residential areas which are
barely monitored across the region. Fear had spread among the population. Against this background, in August
2011 five prowlers were observed in the village of Navanthurai near Jaffna and the locals sought to apprehend
them. The five men hid in the Navanthurai military camp. The army refused to return them to the villagers who
had gathered at the camp. The five men, dressed in military uniform, reappeared a little later in an army jeep
which left the camp. The villagers then threw stones at the car, venting their anger at the protection the army had
given the men. Shots were fired and the crowd dispersed into the night.
At about one o’clock in the morning, the army organised an operation of reprisals in the village. According to
witnesses, twelve army officers entered each house, beat the residents and dragged the men outside. The latter
were violently beaten with metal rods and rifles. Soldiers fired shots at several houses and destroyed doors,
windows and furniture. They also allegedly beat the women and children during the operation and stole valuable
items such as jewellery and telephones. A hundred men were arrested and taken to the military camp from where
they were transferred to Jaffna police headquarters in the early hours of the morning.
Brought before the Court a few hours later, they were covered with bruises and injuries. The Magistrate ordered
that they be admitted to hospital and that medical certificates be produced for the Court. 61 petitions were presented to the Supreme Court for violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution (Fundamental
Rights petitions).
Reinforced militarisation
Decades of conflict have blurred the distinction between the respective functions and powers of the army and the
police. The Emergency Regulations gave the army competences usually attributed to the police, particularly in
terms of search warrants, seizure, arrest and detention. Although the conflict ended three years ago, the Government continues to reinforce the confusion and to militarise tasks normally attributed to a civilian force.
The Defence Minister, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, indicated early 2012 that “even when it comes to the upholding of law
and order, the role of the military has been drastically curtailed with the lifting of the emergency regulations. Day
to day law and order activities have been completely entrusted to the Police. The claim that the military is involved
in every aspect of day-to-day life in the current context is a gross misrepresentation of reality”56.
And yet, when the State of Emergency was lifted in August 2011, instead of reducing military staff numbers in the
north and restoring civilian administration, a decree was adopted by the President to increase the army’s powers,
particularly in the administration of civilian areas. This has led to the attribution of various responsibilities in economic and land management of the province. It is progressively intervening in commercial and agricultural activities.
Soldiers have also kept the mission to maintain public order. The September 2011 decree even extended this
power to the 22 districts in the country. The Government justifies this military presence as a security necessity.
55. Amnesty
��
International, Sri Lanka: Briefing to the UN Committee against torture (October 2011), p 24-25
56. Speech by the Minister of Defence at a public conference, 11 January 2012, Future challenges of national security in Sri Lanka http://www.defence.lk/new.
asp?fname=20120111_01
25
26
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
In the north, fear and anger are spreading among the local population. The perception of this military presence is
progressively seen as a military occupation whose priorities in terms of reconstruction and strategy post-conflict
do not reflect the needs and concerns of the Tamil majority.
c. Prisons
ACAT was unable to visit places of detention during its mission but it gathered accounts from recently released
detainees, a former member of the prison administration, lawyers and members of human rights organisations
who have access to prisons.
It appears that ill-treatment remains frequent in prison and that conditions of detention are worrying. Sri Lanka
was criticised in 2011 by the UN Committee Against Torture particularly as regards the “deplorable levels of
overcrowding and the poor conditions”57. According to a former prison Commissioner “violations and degrading
treatment are committed daily in every prison. Physical assaults and forms of intimidation are the methods used
to run Sri Lankan prisons”58. For example, in August 2011 seven Tamil detainees, who had been on remand for
several years, were violently beaten at Bogambora Prison and threatened with death. They had to be admitted to
the prison hospital to be treated because of their injuries59.
Conditions of detention
Prison overcrowding is a persistent problem. The prison population allegedly numbers 31,000 with an official capacity of 11,000 places60. Welikada Prison in Colombo, the largest in the country, allegedly houses 4,500 detainees
although its official capacity is 2,000 places.61 Accounts gathered from the Prison’s Female Ward show that detainees even sleep on the floor, sometimes with their legs up against the wall because of a lack of space in the cell. One
detainee, who was released in 2011, indicated that she sometimes had to sleep with 16 other women in a surface
area of 9m2. Not all detainees have something to lie on. They can be kept in their cells in an extremely small space
for 12 to 14 consecutive hours during the night.
There are important sanitation gaps. Confinement means that illness spreads very rapidly. Several prisons do not
have a doctor among their staff and medical inspections are sporadic or inexistent. The medicines available are
often insufficient and medical treatment is not necessarily appropriate.
An insufficient amount of water means that detainees cannot wash every day. The bathrooms are generally outside
the cells, are insufficient in number (for example, 4 toilets for 250 detainees on the Female Ward of Welikada Prison)
and in a state of significant disrepair. Detainees sometimes have to use buckets instead of toilets during the night.
The 19th century buildings are unsuitable and in a poor state of repair. There are no renovation or extension projects planned. The ceilings of cells are sometimes screened with wire and do not protect detainees in the event
of heavy rain. The cells are regularly infested with rats and cockroaches. Further, poisonous snakes sometimes
enter the cells and detainees are bitten.
According to official statistics, 75% of the prison population are detainees on remand62. Most of them are awaiting trial and could benefit from a release on bail. However, as they are destitute they are unable to fund the bail
required. The slow speed of legal procedures and the failure to implement the basic principles of the Bail Act
explain why people can still be kept in pre-trial detention for many years. They are sometimes detained for minor
offences whose sentence proves to be far less than the number of years spent on remand. Convicted and remand
prisoners are not always separated because of a lack of space in the prisons.
57. Committee
��
Against Torture, Concluding Observations��
- Sri Lanka, CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, §14 (��
November 2011)
��
58. H. Perera, Study on women pre-trial detainees in Sri Lanka, August 2011, p 47. http://www.scribd.com/doc/66525603/JusticeMaker-2010-Study-on-Women-Pre-trialDetainees-in-Sri-Lanka
59. Sri Lanka Guardian, 6 August 2011, seven Tamil detainees hospitalized after severe torture by the prison officials inside Bogambara remand Prison http://www.
srilankaguardian.org/2011/08/seven-tamil-detainees-hospitalised.html
60. Source: IPS, 20 July 2011 http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56551. It is difficult to find reliable figures. Official statistics and statements from representatives at
the Ministry of Prisons do not necessarily present the same figures.
61. Source : statement from a representative from the Ministry of Prisons to the Daily Mirror, Excess inmates at Welikada prison, 4 July 2011
62. Prison Department, annual admissions of convicted and remand prisoners, 2002-2010. http://www.prisons.gov.lk/Statistics/Statics/Title3/3.13.pdf See also Chapter 2,
B, Guarantees against arbitrary detention
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Riots in prisons
A number of riots have broken out in prisons to protest against the conditions of detention and inhuman treatment. According to the press, in January 2011 about fifty detainees at Anuradhapura Prison went on hunger
strike, accusing the prison authorities of ill-treatment. In reprisals, the latter shot at the prisoners, injuring at
least twenty people and killing up to four detainees according to witness statements63. In January 2012 another
riot in a prison in Colombo was also repressed by force, causing injuries to thirty or so detainees. The detainees
were protesting about overcrowding and the conditions of their detention. Following that event, the Head of the
Prison Department publically declared that the treatment of prisoners were unacceptable64. Nevertheless, no real
steps were taken by the Sri Lankan authorities to improve the situation subsequently. Political leaders regularly
recognise the problem of material conditions in prisons but, despite sporadic announcements, no reforms have
been implemented.
Absence of effective bodies to monitor conditions of detention
A number of bodies can access prisons to inspect conditions of detention and monitor respect for detainees’
rights but none are effective and independent in terms of preventing torture.
In the past, the Board of Prison Visitors was appointed by the Justice Minister and could visit any prison at any
time. It inspected material conditions and submitted reports to the competent authorities. It could also gather detainees’ complaints. It has not existed in practice for a decade. Its members have not been appointed since 2003.
Magistrates and MPs can also make monthly visits to prisons for an inspection65. However, it is very rare to see
them exercise this power in practice. A magistrate has the duty to regularly submit statistical data on his activities, without having to indicate the number of visits carried out in places of detention in his jurisdiction.
Finally, the mandate of the National Human Rights Commission authorises it to make periodic visits to police
stations, centres of detention and prisons in order to inspect conditions of detention and make recommendations
to remedy problems. However, the Commission is not able to carry out independent and effective monitoring.
Practice shows that it is regularly required to have prior authorisation which removes any element of surprise
and the purpose of an unscheduled visit. It does not always have free and total access inside a place of detention
during the periodic visits66, a restriction which is, in theory, an offence punishable by a year in prison67 but for
which no legal proceedings have ever been opened.
It cannot visit unofficial places of detention or those placed under military jurisdiction, de facto depriving it over the
last years from accessing the thousands of people detained in connection with the conflict. In theory, under the Prevention of Terrorism Law, any arrest, detention or transfer of a detainee must be notified to the Human Rights Commission within 48 hours, setting out the place of detention for that person. However, this provision is not applied.
The Commission’s powers and capabilities of inspection are weak. During public consultations with civil society,
its members regularly complained that they lacked the human and financial resources to carry out their work
properly. The law defining the Commission’s mandate sets out that “any person authorized by the Commission
in writing may enter at any time, any place of detention, police station, prison or any other place in which any
person is detained by a judicial order or otherwise, and make such examinations therein or make such inquiries from any person found therein, as may be necessary to ascertain the condition of detention of the persons
detained therein.”68 Sri Lankan NGOs claim that they could carry out such monitoring but the Commission has
never delegated this visiting power.
According to the Sri Lankan Government, the International Committee of the Red Cross also carries out visits to
places of detention. The UN Committee Against Torture, however, has claimed that the ICRC does not have access to some places, particularly those where detainees are suspected of belonging to the LTTE.69
63. BBC, 24 January 2011, ‘Inmates killed’ in Sri Lanka prison shooting. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12268829
64. BBC 24 January 2012, Sri Lanka jail riot ‘injures 31’ in Colombo, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-16699119
65. In
��
accordance with the��
Release of Remand��
��
Prisoners��
Act No 8 of 1991 and
��
��
A��
rticle 39 of
��
the��
Prisons Ordinance
66. Human Rights Council, follow-up to the recommendations made by the special rapporteur (A/HRC/7/3/Add.6) 26 February 2010, p 208-209; See also Kishali PintoJayawardena, The Rule of Law in Decline: Study on Prevalence, Determinants and Causes of Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment in Sri Lanka. (Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, April 2009), p 196
67. Article 28(3) of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No 21, 1996
68. Article 28 (2) of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No 21, 1996. http://hrcsl.lk/PFF/HRC%20Act.pdf
69. UN Committee Against Torture, Concluding Observations- Sri Lanka, CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4 (November 2011) §16
27
28
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
CHAPTER 2.
LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST TORTURE:
WHEN ARBITRARY AND EXCEPTION PREVAIL
The Sri Lankan authorities regularly highlight the legal provisions of Sri Lankan law to show
the international community that torture is prohibited. However, they respond with silence
to the lack of application of these provisions and the existence of Emergency Regulations
and the anti-terrorism law which encourage the use of torture and suspend most of the
fundamental guarantees against torture.
1. Virtual anti-torture law
In 1994 Sri Lanka ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and implemented it in its internal legislation through
Act No. 22 on the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(the CAT Act). Sri Lankan law expressly prohibits torture. It defines the crime of torture and contains numerous
provisions to protect an individual from torture and ill-treatment. However, the legal guarantees against torture
are violated on a daily basis.
a. Definition of crimes
The prohibition of torture is a non-derogable constitutional law. The 1978 Constitution expressly prohibits torture in
Article 11 (“No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”).
The CAT Act defines torture as a specific crime in Article 12: any act which causes severe physical or mental pain
to a person. The act must be committed to obtain information or a confession, to punish a person for an act that
he or a third party has committed or is suspected of having committed, to intimidate him or put pressure on a third
party, or for any other reason based on a form of discrimination. The act must be inflicted by a public official or
any other person acting in an official capacity or at the instigation or express or tacit consent of a public official.
The definition of the International Convention is reflected therein, with the exception of the notion of “severe
suffering” which is omitted70. Sri Lankan NGOs assert that recent jurisprudence from the Supreme Court and
judgements made by the High Court do not refer to psychological torture. Sri Lanka was criticised by the United
Nations on several occasions on this point.71
Legislation provides for a sentence of seven to ten years in prison and a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 rupees (approximately €60 to €300) for the crime of torture.
Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is not mentioned in the CAT Act. One must refer to the Criminal Code
which prohibits certain acts which could constitute ill-treatment.
Extracting a confession by force is prohibited. Articles 321 and 322 provide for a sentence of up to ten years in
prison for a deliberate attack on a person’s integrity in order to extract a confession or information leading to the
discovery of an offence. It is interesting to note that Article 321 is illustrated by examples describing cases of
torture by the police: “(a) A, a police officer, tortures Z in order to encourage him to confess that he has com70. Sri
��
Lanka, Combined third and fourth periodic reports of States parties due in 2007 Sri Lanka”, (CAT/C/LKA/3-4), submitted to the Committee Against Torture, on 17
August 2009, para. 15, p. 7;
71. The
��
UN Committee Against Torture recommended amending the definition of the crime of torture to include the notion of severe suffering��
(��
UN Committee Against
Torture, Concluding Observations, Sri Lanka (2011), CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4, §25).The Special Rapporteur for torture indicated that the definition of Article 12 conformed
with the Convention, except for the omission of the word “suffering” (Report of the Special Rapporteur for torture, Manfred Nowak, Mission to Sri Lanka, 1-8 October
2007, A/HRC/7/3/Add.6, 26 February 2008, §25).The UN Human Rights Committee considered that “the restrictive definition of torture [...] continues to raise problems
in the light of article 7 of the Covenant.” (UN Human Rights Committee, Conclusions on Sri Lanka (2003), CCPR/CO/79/LKA, §9).
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
mitted a crime. A is guilty of an offence in accordance with this provision”. Rape in detention and gang rape are
aggravated forms of rape and are punishable by ten to twenty years in prison and a fine (Article 364). Homicide
is punishable by death (Article 293-297)72.
The crime of enforced disappearance, considered to be a form of torture, is not provided for in Sri Lankan legislation. Sri Lanka has not signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance.
b. Protection against torture
Guarantees against arbitrary detention
The Constitution and ordinary law provide for several guarantees upon arrest, questioning and detention which
can prevent potential use of torture. The Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure provide that any person
must be informed of the reason for his/her arrest. According to a Presidential Directive from 2006, the person
responsible for an arrest must present a written document to a relative of the person arrested which includes the
date and place of the arrest, the name and rank of the person responsible for the arrest and the place of detention.
The person arrested must be able to communicate with his family. If it involves a woman or a child, the arrest
must be carried out by the Children and Women Bureau of the army or the police or at least in the presence of a
female officer. The woman or child arrested can be accompanied by a person of their choice during questioning.
However, this Directive does not carry the force of law and is not binding73.
Unfortunately, all these rights are constantly flouted. The reason for an arrest is rarely given. Police officers in
charge of an arrest do not provide their identity and, in many cases, are dressed in civilian clothing at the time of
questioning. They do not necessarily inform the family.
Mr Sampath Kumara told ACAT about his arrest on 1 February 2011, explaining that two police officers in civilian clothing and an unidentified man wearing police uniform had attacked him in the street, beaten him up and
dragged him to the police station where he had been shut in a cell without knowing why. The police officers
did not inform him of the reason for his arrest and gave him no written documents in which it was notified. The
following day, Mr Sampath Kumara was forced to sign a document whose content he had not seen and he was
released without understanding what he had done wrong.
The Officers in Charge are obliged to inform the court of any arrest made without an arrest warrant74. Custody
may not exceed 24 hours if the suspect is arrested without an arrest warrant75 and all detained persons must
be brought before a magistrate without delay76. At the time of the publication of this report, a new bill was to be
introduced to parliament to allow the police to detain a suspect until 48 hours, regarding some offences including murder, robbery or rape, prior to producing suspects before a magistrate. 77 Given the frequency of the use
of torture at police stations and the frequency of custodial deaths, this increase of custodial period is likely to
increase the incidents of torture.
A judge can order that a person remain in detention for two weeks for the requirements of the police investigation, providing a reason for his decision. He can then extend detention by blocks of three months, without exceeding two years, for the most serious cases.
72. The
��
death penalty is still in force in Sri Lanka. No executions have taken place since 1976.
73. Presidential Directives of 7 July 2006 (re-published in 2007).
74. Article 38 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 65 of the Police Ordinance
75. Articles 36 and 37 Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 2 of Decree No. A.20 of the Police Department
76. Article 13(2) of the Constitution.
77. See Daily Mirror, 2 June 2012, Police to get 48hours http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/19119-police-to-get-more-time.html. Note that the extension of the detention period
to 48 hours for suspects was first enacted in 2007 by way of a special provisions act (CCP (Special Provisions) Act, No 42 of 2007). The special provisions act was
limited for a period of two years and expired in May 2009. However, the Minister of Justice stated in September 2011 that the police had the power to keep a person
in custody for 48 hours instead of 24 hours because of an alleged rule passed by the Government. Subsequently the Ministry of Justice took steps to re introduce
the act as an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code.
29
30
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
According to organisations working on the question of detention, many people are held on remand awaiting
indictment for three to four years. ACAT met a woman, U.A. Somawathi, 45, who spent nine years in detention
without ever being indicted. Arrested in February 2003 by the police for possession of heroin, she was placed
on remand for two weeks. She was never brought before the court subsequently and was forgotten by the legal
system. In 2010 a human rights activist discovered this woman’s situation in Welikada Prison. Legal proceedings
were then opened to obtain her release, including before the Supreme Court in February 2011 which ordered the
release of the petitioner a few days later. On 22 February 2011, nine years after being incarcerated, Somawathi
was released.
This story is just one example of many which illustrate the serious problems within the judicial system, connected in particular to excessive use of release only on bail, the lack of legal aid, the inaction of the Attorney
General’s office, the congestion of the courts which generates extremely long procedural delays and a lack of
respect for the basic legal guarantees of people deprived of their liberty.
The right to contest the legality of detention
Article 141 of the Constitution provides that anyone has the right to contest the legality of detention before a
court (writ of habeas corpus). This is important for the families of those who have disappeared as it theoretically
obliges the authorities to bring that person before a judge. However, it is ineffective in practice.
It is up to the claimant to prove that the victim has been arrested and held by the State. Given the systematic denial
by the authorities of cases of enforced disappearance, it is very difficult, even impossible, to provide such evidence.
Families often look for their relative through informal channels. It is only after exhausting all these methods that
they turn to the justice system. No limitation period is provided to register a writ of habeas corpus and yet judges
have rejected them discretionally, considering that too much time has passed78. Rejection can also be based on
the position presented by the State counsel, indicating for example that the person has been charged without any
proof being provided79.
The State’s lack of desire to investigate enforced disappearances prevents the legal authorities from continuing
the process. One emblematic example is the enforced disappearance of the journalist and cartoonist Prageeth
Ekneligoda in January 2010. The authorities denied any involvement in his abduction and claimed that they were
investigating the case. The journalist’s wife submitted a writ of habeas corpus in August 2010. After six hearings
where no progress was observed in the investigation, in August 2011 the Court ordered that the investigation be
rapidly brought to a close80. No conclusion to the investigation has been submitted to the Court.
Inadmissibility of confessions obtained in detention
Ordinary law provides that a confession made to a police officer or a confession made by someone in custody
cannot be used as proof in criminal cases unless it is made before a judge81. All confessions obtained using
threats or in exchange for benefits are prohibited.
However, the cases of torture examined by ACAT show that confessions are constantly being extracted by the
police and judges are repeatedly passing sentence on the basis of this fact alone. Judges are not obliged to ask
the defendant if he was tortured or ill-treated in detention during his first hearing or the trial. Most victims do not
spontaneously mention what they have been subjected to, either through ignorance or through fear of reprisals
once they leave the court. Judges deliberately close their eyes, even if the defendant is covered in bruises and
alleges that his confession was obtained under torture.
Sisil Weerasinghe, tortured by police officers on the night of 30 December 2011, was brought the next day for an
immediate appearance before the Court of Wattala. Despite his bruises, the judge did not question him about his
treatment in custody. He was sentenced for drunkenness on a public highway by the judge who based his judgement entirely on the statement drawn up by the police that Sisil Weerasinghe was forced to sign under torture.
78. Kishali
��
Pinto-Jayawardena and Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Habeas Corpus in Sri Lanka: Theory and Practice of the Great Writ in Extraordinary Times, p xxxiii
(Law and Society Trust, January 2011).
79. International Commission of Jurists, submission to the Committee against Torture on the examination of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Sri Lanka
under the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (2011), p11
80. ibid
��
81. Articles
��
24, 25��
and��
26 of
��
the Evidence
��
Ordinance
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Access to a lawyer
Until now no provision in the law has guaranteed the right for an arrested person to receive the assistance of a
lawyer. This possibility was left to the discretion of the police officers, just as is the question of the confidentiality
of their interview and the intervention of a lawyer during questioning. At the time of the release of this report, a
new notification to be gazetted allows lawyers to visit police stations as a matter of right. However, in practice,
many of the poorer victims are unlikely to have the benefit of this lawyer’s intervention as they are unable to hire
the lawyers and pay their fees. Special arrangements should be made for the utilization of this gazette notification
to ensure the availability and the representation by lawyers of suspects from poorer circumstances.
Gaps in the law
Some significant provisions are missing from Sri lankan law. An arrested person does not legally have the right
to receive an independent medical examination. Only the OIC can order this if he “considers that the examination
of any person by a medical practitioner is necessary for the conduct of an investigation”82.
There is no law relating to compensation for victims of torture and ill-treatment. No legislative initiative has ever
been brought to provide this right to victims. There is no law regarding rehabilitation. The obligation to provide
medical assistance or trauma counselling for acute stress disorder or post traumatic stress disorder and other
psychological problems is not provided by the law or by any State policy. No legislative provision was brought to
parliament to remedy this deficiency.
Although the law provides for some legal guarantees against torture, the arbitrary action of the law enforcement
agencies shows that ordinary law has become virtual. Moreover, the Emergency Regulations in force for decades
and anti-terrorism law suspended several of these legal and constitutional protections, the Constitution giving
them precedence over common law.
2. When the exception becomes the rule: the impact of the Emergency
Regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act
“The appalling numbers of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, unlawful arrests and detentions and the widespread practice of torture in recent years are attributable to the high level of impunity prevalent in the country and
are the direct consequences of the PTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] and the Emergency Regulations”83.
a. Fundamental rights eroded by forty years of a State of Emergency
According to both international law84 and Sri Lankan law85, no exceptional circumstances (armed conflict, political instability, state of emergency, order of a superior officer) can restrict the prohibition of torture. Nevertheless,
the State of Emergency in place almost continually since 197186 led to the establishment of Emergency Regulations which replaced ordinary law and encouraged the use of torture.
In the event of a state of emergency, the President of the Republic has the constitutional power to decree an
emergency regulation “amending or suspending the operation of the provisions of any law, except the provisions
of the Constitution”87. This regulation, supposed to be temporary, has become permanent88. The Executive published Emergency Regulations giving very wide-ranging powers of arrest, search and seizure to law enforcement
agencies and making it possible to detain people without charge or trial.
82. Article
��
122(1) of
��
the Code of Criminal Procedure
83. Mr Ratnavale, lawyer and Director of the Center for Human Rights and Development, Colombo (Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), A critical analysis, January 2010)
84. Article
��
2(2) of
��
the��
UN Convention Against Torture
85. Article
��
15 of
��
the��
1978 Constitution
��
and A��
rticle 3 of
��
the��
1994 Law
��
on��
T��
��
orture
86. Since
��
March 1971 Sri Lanka has experienced brief periods without a state of emergency which lasted from two months to four years�.
87. Article
��
155 of
��
the��
Constitution
88. See
��
the Public
��
Security Order
31
32
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Fundamental rights sacrificed under cover of national security
For more than forty years successive governments have justified the State of Emergency and the repressive
legislation introduced as a necessity to ensure national security and prevent attacks on the State.
Human rights activists have constantly denounced the abuses committed under cover of these Emergency Regulations and the sacrifice of civil and political freedoms. Numerous restrictions were made to fundamental freedoms and constitutional rights such as freedom of expression or the right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest
or detention. These provisions, which should have been exceptional, have progressively replaced ordinary law.
Drafted vaguely and used abusively and arbitrarily, they have considerably damaged legal protection against torture and the fundamental rights of those deprived of their liberty.
Lifting of the State of Emergency in 2011 but survival of the provisions
through the anti-terrorism law
More than two years after the end of the conflict, the State of Emergency, renewed month after month for forty
years by a vote in Parliament, was finally lifted on 31 August 2011. But the content of the Emergency Regulations has largely survived because a large number of its provisions are covered by the Prevention of Terrorism
Act (PTA). 24 hours before the State of Emergency expired, this law was quickly amended to add articles from
the Emergency Regulations which were going to disappear89. The PTA, adopted for a temporary period in 1979,
has become permanent. The following section concentrates on its content, this law being a legal arsenal in force
which legitimises and institutionalises torture.
89. ��
See Prevention of Terrorism (Extension of Application) Regulations No.3 of 2011.Gazette Extraordinary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka No. 1721/3
of 29 August 2011; See also Prevention of Terrorism (Detainees and Remandees) Regulation No.4 of 2011
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
b. Provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)
18-month detention
The PTA confers broad powers on soldiers and the police. They can search for and seize any goods, arrest and
detain anyone without a warrant, even if they have not committed an offence, from the time they think they could
have a connection with an illegal activity, a very vague notion90. Practice shows that such power of arrest based
on simple suspicion is used abusively and arbitrarily.
The PTA suspends the right of a person to be informed of the reason for their arrest. The law also suspends
the right to be brought before a judge promptly. It allows a detention for up to 18 months without requiring the
suspect to be brought before a judge or indicted. Its justification for this delay is to allow the police to investigate
possible participation in an illegal activity91. Detention can be a preventive measure.
Impossibility of challenging detention
A person deprived of his liberty cannot challenge his detention before a judge. The decision to be placed in detention (a detention order) and its extension is made by the Defence Minister, conferring very important prerogatives
on the Executive to the detriment of the judiciary. The law provides that the Minister’s decision is definitive and
cannot be contested before a court or any authority.92 No provisions provide for a reason to extend detention.
Further, the already very long 18 month-period is regularly exceeded. Detainees are therefore being held illegally
in detention. No limits are defined for detention after indictment and while awaiting trial.
Two examples illustrate such unlimited detention. Ms Anthony Chandra was arrested on 10 August 2008 by the
Kandy Terrorist Investigation Division (TID). She was detained for eight months at Kandy police station without
being informed of the official reason for her arrest. She said she was tortured and interrogated every night by the
TID. She was also allegedly subjected to death and rape threats if she refused to provide the information the TID
officers were looking for. After nine months in detention, she was brought before the Matale Magistrate Court on
13 May 2009. The Court ordered that she be kept on remand. She was not informed of the possible accusations
against her until the end of 2011 when she learnt that she had been investigated on 12 counts under the PTA. In
December 2011 she had been detained for 41 months for accusations which she contests93.
During questioning by the TID at the start of her detention, Ms Anthony Chandra was questioned about her
neighbours and mentioned the name of Mr Kalappam Monoharan. The latter was asked to come to the TID branch
Kandy ��
of Kandy Headquarters Police Station��
in August 2008. When he arrived he was arrested. The police informed him that he was suspected of having assisted the LTTE. He denied the accusations and was tortured by
the Kandy TID officers. He was asked to sign documents in Sinhalese. He could not read them as he did not speak
the language but he said he had to agree to sign them to end the torture. He was then transferred to another
police station where he was detained for six months before being brought before the Kandy Court which kept him
in detention in Bogambora. He was still being detained in August 2011, three years after his arrest. Three cases
had been assembled against him. He thinks that the documents he signed were statements written by the police
attributing terrorist offences to him94.
Some detainees, deprived of their liberty for more than 18 months without charge, have had access to legal assistance and have lodged a complaint for violation of their fundamental rights before the Supreme Court to contest
their detention. In this case, the Attorney General’s office must then inform the Court of its decision to indict or
release the detainee. However, most of the time it indicates that investigations are in progress and that it needs
more time, thus prolonging a de facto illegal detention.
90. ��
Article 6 (1) of the PTA: “connected with or concerned in or reasonably suspected of being connected with or concerned in any unlawful activity”
91. Article
��
9 of
��
the��
PTA
92. Article
��
10 of
��
the��
PTA
93. AHRC, Sri Lanka: A woman is arbitrarily detained for more than forty months without access to fair trial, 14 December 2011, : http://www.humanrights.asia/news/
urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-247-2011/?searchterm=PTA
94. AHRC, Sri Lanka : an innocent man remains in detention since August 2008 after being tortured into a confession by the TID, 9 August 2011: http://www.humanrights.
asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-136-2011
33
34
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Detention in secret locations and free transfer to any other place
The PTA allows for a person to be detained in any location, official or secret, and freely transferred from one location to another for the needs of an investigation. Practice shows that these provisions lead to secret detentions,
enforced disappearances and the use of torture.
In theory, all arrests and detentions in accordance with this law must be notified to the Sri Lanka Human Rights
Commission within 48 hours, setting out the place of detention of the person. Any transfer to another place of
detention must also be notified. This provision is systematically violated in practice.
Confessions admissible in court
Contrary to the guarantees provided for in ordinary law, the PTA authorises that confessions obtained in detention
are admissible in court if they have been made before an officer whose rank above an Assistant Superintendent
(ASP) and outside the presence of a judge95.
Lawyers representing people arrested under the PTA consider that 99% of charges rest exclusively on the so-called
confessions made to an ASP or a superior. In most cases, the accused is a Tamil who cannot read or understand
Sinhalese. And yet the only document presented to the court to judge this person is a statement written in Sinhalese
by a Sinhalese police officer who does not speak Tamil and who has not necessarily been assisted by an interpreter.
Confessions obtained by force or using threats remain prohibited in all circumstances. However, according to
the PTA the burden of proof lies with the victim96. It is therefore up to the latter to prove that the confession was
extracted under duress. If the victim cannot prove it, the confession is considered to be admissible in court and de
facto its content is judged to be reliable. The PTA blithely tramples on the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.
It appears that Tamil judges working in courts in the north and east provinces have refused to use confessions as
elements of proof when they suspect that they have been obtained under duress. However, courts in Sinhalese regions, particularly Colombo, continue to use such confessions as a basis for sentencing. Thus, in a case concerning
three people charged for violating the PTA, the High Court of Jaffna refused to use a confession made under torture
as a basis for its judgement. Due to the absence of other elements of proof for the prosecution, it acquitted the three
defendants97. The three individuals were prosecuted for another, similar, case before the High Court of Colombo.
Their lawyer indicated to the magistrates that the elements of proof had been obtained under torture and referred
to the judgement made in Jaffna to support his case. Instead of proceeding as the Jaffna High Court had done, the
court in Colombo decided that the trial would be delayed until October 2011, on which date the lawyer was informed
that the Attorney General was going to ask the Court of Appeal to revise the Jaffna judgement.
Immunity
The PTA provides for immunity against any civil or criminal proceedings for anyone acting “in good faith” within
the framework of this law. It therefore gives the law enforcement agencies acting under cover of this law and
committing serious human rights violations total impunity98.
This legislation has considerably encouraged the use of torture. A campaign led by academics, lawyers and human rights activists has been asking for the PTA to be repealed for several years99. In a post-conflict context,
a government should re-establish fundamental freedoms and constitutional rights, restore civil administration
and repeal the Emergency Regulations. The announcement of the lifting of the State of Emergency was simply a
smokescreen for the international community. On 25 August 2011, in his speech announcing the end of the State
of Emergency, the President, Mahinda Rajapksa, said that “from the time when terrorist activities ended in May
2009 until today there have been no reports of any terrorist activities” and suggested ending the Emergency
Regulations in order “to function democratically under the ordinary law”100. And yet the PTA remains in force and
legal protection against torture continues to be suspended.
95. Article
��
16 (1) of
��
the��
PTA
96. Article
��
16(2) of
��
the��
PTA
97. HC
��
Jaffna case No. 1244/2009
98. Article
��
26 of the PTA
99. See for example Asian Human Rights Commission, Repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and end gross violations of rights: http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/
repealpta/
100. Verbatim of the speech of President Mahinda Rajapksa to the National Assembly taken from: “Crucial weeks ahead for Sri Lanka internationally”, Political Column of
the Sunday Times (28 August 2011) available on: http://sundaytimes.lk/110828/Columns/political.html
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
CHAPTER 3.
SYSTEMIC DENIAL OF JUSTICE
In Sri Lanka a victim of torture has no effective legal remedy. This is the view of several
lawyers who defend victims of torture in Sri Lanka.
Although torture is prohibited in Sri Lankan law and mechanisms to obtain justice exist in theory, the judiciary no
longer protects its citizens. Its silence and inaction in the face of torture make it complicit in this practice. Most
observers consider that the judicial system, placed under the influence of the Executive, has lost all independence and has been in a state of collapse since the beginning of the 21st century101. Political power deliberately
impedes the slightest effort to combat impunity for human rights violations and blocks any possibility for most
victims to obtain justice.
International law provides that victims of torture have the right to an independent inquiry, effective remedy and
compensation. In Sri Lanka victims who lodge a complaint come up against innumerable obstacles, risk their
lives and only have a minute chance of obtaining justice and compensation. In 18 years of the CAT Act, only
four sentences have been passed, a figure which, given the endemic use of torture in the country, illustrates the
impunity which prevails.
1. The judiciary under the control of the Executive
There is deep mistrust of the judiciary within Sri Lankan society. It is judged to be politicised and controlled by
the Executive. Political interference has considerably damage the institution.
The system for appointing the highest posts ignores the principle of the separation of executive and judicial powers. The President of the Republic discretionarily appoints the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court,
the judges of the Appeal Court and the Attorney General. It is a direct appointment system without consultation
or transparent processes102. In 2011 the appointment of women as Chief Justice (Ms Shirani Bandaranayake103)
and as Attorney General (Ms Shanthi Eva Wanasundara) for the first time were highlighted as progress by the
Government. The arrival of these figures who were loyal to the President of the Republic has, nonetheless, had
no impact on restoring the independence of the justice system or a change in judicial practice.
Judges of the High Court, the competent jurisdiction for offences in the CAT Act, are also appointed by the President of the Republic after recommendation by the Judicial Services Commission. This Commission, led by the
Chief Justice and two judges at the Supreme Court, aims to promote, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control
over the magistrates and to appoint lower court judges. It is strongly criticised for its lack of transparency and the
absence of objective criteria for appointments.
Sarath Silva, Chief Justice from 1999 to 2009, is considered to have played a central role in the politicisation
of the judiciary, exercising a damaging influence through arbitrary appointments and promotions or the forced
101. See in particular the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute Report, Justice in retreat: A report on the independence of the legal profession and the
rule of law in Sri Lanka (May 2009). http://www.ibanet.org/Document/Default.aspx?DocumentUid=C7793247-1498-409F-83D0-75B3DFD107C7; International Crisis
Group, Sri Lanka’s judiciary: Politicised courts, compromised rights(June 2009) http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/172_sri_lankas_
judiciary___politicised_courts__compromised_rights.ashx; Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, The Rule of Law in Decline: Study on Prevalence, Determinants and Causes
of Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Sri Lanka (Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, April
2009); Basil Fernando, Recovering the authority of public institutions (2009).
102. In 2001 a 17th amendment to the Constitution was adopted to reduce political influence over the judiciary in particular. It created a Constitutional Council whose
mandate was to appoint or review the appointments proposed by the President for important positions in public administration. This Council was composed of
eminent figures and functioned until 2005 before the President of the Republic resumed the system of direct appointment. The adoption of the 18th amendment in
September 2010 formally removed the approval of appointments by the Constitutional Council.
103. In a diplomatic cable dated 24 February 2010, the American Ambassador in Colombo considered Shirani Bandaranayake to be loyal to Rajapaksa http://wikileaks.
org/cable/2010/02/10COLOMBO132.html. Her appointment was also criticised because of her lack of experience and a conflict of interests as regards her husband:
http://colombotelegraph.com/2011/09/14/chief-justice-or-her-husband-must-resign/
35
36
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
removal of magistrates. He also weakened jurisprudence through judicial decisions motivated by political considerations. “The notion of human rights has significantly deteriorated within the judiciary itself. The provisions protecting citizens are today interpreted by a judiciary which supports the administration, not citizens” one lawyer
told ACAT. “The courts have lost judicial power but the judges barely see it. They must support the Government’s
policies and instructions to ensure their careers. Judges who don’t toe the Government line see their appointment
blocked or are transferred”. The appointment of several judges to diplomatic posts or retired magistrates to senior posts within the State (particularly the Government) has been criticised, as has the appointment of Asoka de
Silva who was Chief Justice until May 2011. He became a Presidential Advisor a few days after he left the Court.
2. Inefficiency of complaint and inquiry bodies
a. The danger of complaining
Sri Lankan legislation includes a complaint and inquiry mechanism following allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
But, as with many other mechanisms in Sri Lanka, it is neither independent nor impartial nor effective. The perception of many victims is that there is no point in complaining about State officials and it could even be dangerous.
It is up to the police to register the statement of a victim who alleges that he has been tortured and those of possible witnesses. This system discourages someone who has suffered abuse at the hands of police officers from
lodging a complaint with his torturers or their colleagues. In many cases, police officers deliberately refuse to take
the statement and register the complaint. A victim ACAT met in Kandy told his story: “I was brutally attacked and
beaten, arrested arbitrarily, humiliated and detained by officers from the Teldeniya police station. The Teldeniya
police officers then refused to register my complaint. On 16 May 2011 my wife Sanjeewani and her brother went
to the central province’s office of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) while I was being arbitrarily detained. The
DIG listened to their account and then told them that he would not register their complaint. All these refusals
prevented any inquiry and allowed my torturers to remain unpunished.”
A Tamil victim faces a linguistic obstacle as the police department is mainly made up of Sinhalese officers. If a
Tamil victim wants to register a complaint, the document will generally be drawn up in Sinhalese by the police. The
complainant will be forced to sign a document he does not understand and cannot verify. Further, he risks facing
even greater reluctance from the police to register his complaint against a State official than if he were Sinhalese.
Police officers frequently threaten victims who want to make a complaint or their families. Sampath Deshapriya,
24, was arrested by the Kiniyavala police at the end of December 2011. His mother managed to see him at the
police station. She saw that Sampath was finding it very difficult to speak and that his body was covered in marks
from blows, as were the soles of his feet which were very badly injured. She was threatened by the police officers: if she complained, she could no longer see her son in detention. Nonetheless, she was brave enough to
lodge a complaint on 2 February 2012, demanding an inquiry into what her son had been subjected to, medical
treatment and respect for his physical and psychological integrity104.
For individuals serving their sentences in prison, it is impossible to have their rights heard and complain: risk of
reprisals, impossibility of requesting an independent medical examination, refusal of potential witnesses to testify
through fear of violence from the prison administration. In theory, an internal complaints procedure does exist but
a former member of the Prison Administration told ACAT that “prisoners cannot use it in practice. They can try
to complain but it is pointless and exposes them to risks”. Most people detained through the PTA are even more
helpless as they generally do not have access to a lawyer or their families.
104. Janasansadaya,
��
Torture Prevalence in Sri Lanka – 2012 (��
February��
2012):http://www.scribd.com/doc/80655124/Torture-Prevalence-in-Sri-Lanka-2012-Part-01-ByJanasansadaya
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
b. Ineffectiveness of inquiries and proceedings
In theory, Sri Lankan law offers different inquiry mechanisms. If a complaint is lodged correctly with the police,
the latter must normally investigate, prepare a charge and send it to the Attorney General’s office for possible
proceedings. The National Human Rights Commission can also investigate on allegations of torture and then recommend a criminal investigation and legal proceedings. Further, Sri Lanka has a long history of Special Inquiry
Commissions set up following serious acts of violence.
Despite all these mechanisms, the collapse of the rule of law and the judicial system has deprived Sri Lankan
society of any independent and effective inquiry bodies for allegations of torture and ill-treatment105.
b.1. Hindrance by the police and the Attorney General Office
The Police Department lacks the desire to investigate torture cases involving its colleagues, a fortiori if they work
at the same police station. Often, after a complaint has been lodged nothing happens. The Police Department
regularly claims that it does not have the information it needs to identify those responsible without actually bothering to investigate. Even when it announces that it is opening an investigation, results are rare.
Further, it can seek to stifle or conceal a case. In many of the cases examined by ACAT, the police have fabricated
a case against a torture victim to dissuade him from complaining. This strategy is also used before the courts to
overturn a case and protect themselves: the police claim that the victim is making untrue and improper allegations of torture to avoid justice.
Special Investigation Unit
From 2005 investigations into torture or ill-treatment were attached to a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) operating from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Police Department in Colombo. In principle this unit,
composed of highly qualified police officers, referred cases to the office of the Attorney General or the Inspector
General of Police (IGP). Criticised because of the risk of bias and lack of independence as police officers were
investigating acts committed by other police officers, it nonetheless gathered evidence of sixty cases of torture
between 2005 and 2008, leading to the officials involved in those cases being questioned. In July 2003 a child
aged 7, suspected of having stolen from a shop, had been arrested and tortured in custody by the Officer in
Charge. The Special Investigations Unit dealt with the complaint. The investigation ended with the indictment of
the police officer in 2008 and his sentencing in 2012, nearly nine years after the event106. This case was one of
the last where the Unit submitted an indictment for torture.
Torture cases blocked by the Attorney General department
The appointment of Chitta Ranjan De Silva in 2007 to the post of Attorney General led to a complete change in policy
as regards criminal proceedings. No more cases of torture were submitted to the Special Investigations Unit. Mr De
Silva, and his successor Mohan Peiris (Attorney General from 2009 to 2011), justified this change by saying that
they did not want to submit to outside pressure from the UN and human rights organisations which were calling for
the establishment of inquiries into serious human rights violations. Mr De Silva decided that all complaints of torture
should be examined by the Attorney General’s office which would decide if an inquiry should be carried out or not.
Over the last five years the reality has shown that the Attorney General’s office blocks investigations and proceedings which involve the responsibility of State officials in acts of torture. On several occasions the UN and NGOs have
called for inquiries into numerous cases but these recommendations remain unheeded.
Since the end of the 1990s the Attorney General used to follow a specific policy to prevent any conflict of interest
during legal proceedings. As it is generally charged with representing the State and its civil servants in cases
before the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s office did not represent them if they were accused of infringing
fundamental rights such as through acts of torture. The view was that the Attorney General could not be officially
in charge of legal proceedings against those responsible for torture before a criminal jurisdiction and, in parallel,
represent them before the Supreme Court. However, in 2009 the reverse was true when a representative from
the Attorney General’sdepartment announced that the Attorney General would represent the interests of police
officers involved in a case of torture107.
105. See in particular the UN Committee Against Torture, Concluding Observations- Sri Lanka, CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4 (November 2011) §18
106. Janasansadaya, Conviction under torture Act, 27 January 2012 http://www.janasansadaya.org/page.php?id=460&lang=en&type=ar
107. AHRC, Sri Lanka: Attorney General’s decision to represent alleged torture perpetrators undermines the rule of law, June 2009, http://www.humanrights.asia/news/
ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-138-2009
37
38
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
The Attorney General, who is appointed directly by the President of the Republic, executes the Government’s
instructions. Experience over the last few years shows that the holder of the post has no independence vis-à-vis
the Executive. He no longer has an impartial role in terms of protecting victims of torture. In November 2011 the
Sri Lankan delegation attending the UN Committee Against Torture’s Periodic Review was led by Mohan Peiris
who had left his role as Attorney General a few weeks earlier. He fiercely denied and played down violations of
the Convention Against Torture and strongly defended the Government’s current policy on the issue108.
b.2. The inefficiency of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has the power to investigate allegations of torture. It can submit recommendations as regards opening inquiries and prosecutions against perpetrators or compensation for victims
of torture. However, it is regularly criticised because of its lack of independence and its inaction109.
The 18th amendment to the Constitution adopted in 2010 formally deprived it of its independence, allowing the
President of the Republic to directly and discretionally appoint its members without a consultative or transparent
process. Further, the problem began several years ago. In 2007 the international body charged with coordinating national human rights institutions officially downgraded the Sri Lankan Commission, considering that its
independence was no longer guaranteed: in 2006 President Mahinda Rajapska had personally appointed five
commissioners, bypassing the consultative process provided for by the Constitution110.
In 2011, following the appointment of five new members by the President, civil society questioned their aptitude
and their experience in terms of protecting human rights and considered that their appointment was worrying111.
In particular, one of the new members was a former Inspector General of Police. The appointment of former
members of the Police Department or the armed forces creates concern as to the impartiality of the Commission
which receives many complaints about abuse committed by the police and the army. Victims can only become
more reticent about lodging complaints.
Members of the Commission have regularly pointed out the lack of capabilities and resources available to perform
their role properly. Civil society also denounces its inaction, considering that there is a deliberate lack of desire
on the part of the members of the Commission112. In particular, it was criticised for refusing to accept complaints
from victims and their families in 2010 and 2011 in sensitive cases113. The Commission is also criticised because
it does not inform victims and their lawyers of steps taken following a complaint about torture and it does not always investigate. Further, the Commission abstains from any action at all if the victim has brought a Fundamental
Rights Petition before the Supreme Court. Its credibility and its efficiency are seriously questioned.
b.3. The artifice of the Ad hoc Commissions of Inquiry
There have been a number of special commissions in Sri Lanka charged with investigating serious human rights
violation. When the governmental authorities do not have the capability or the will to investigate, or when public
opinion does not have confidence in the judicial system, an independent commission of inquiry can reveal the
crimes committed and establish accountability through a report which is made public. It can recommend or itself
open criminal proceedings against those responsible and promote political or institutional reforms to prevent a
repetition of the same events. However, no Commission of Inquiry in Sri Lanka has managed to fulfil this role114.
The Commissions have generally served either to repress political opposition or as an artifice, not only to calm national
and international pressure but also to distract attention when the Government’s responsibility was called into question
in cases of serious violations. In the 1980s Sri Lanka was ravaged both by the armed conflict between the Government
108. Read Mohan Peiris’ speech to the 47th session of the Committee Against Torture: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/statements/StatSriLanka47.pdf
109. See in particular the Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, Follow-up to the
recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur (Manfred Novak) in the report of his visit to Sri Lanka from 1 to 8 October 2007, §83-87 (A/HRC/13/39/Add6,
26 February 2010); See also the Committee against Torture, Concluding Observations on Sri Lanka, November 2011, §16-17; Joint Alternative Report from the Sri
Lankan NGO Collective to the Committee Against torture, 14 October 2011, p16-18.
110. In the past the appointments procedure included a consultation process led by the Constitutional Council, a multipartite body which submitted its recommendations
as to the appointment of candidates.
111. Sri Lanka Brief, 29 March 2011, Friday Forum deeply concerned about recent appointments to Human Rights Commission,http://www.srilankabrief.org/2011/03/fridayforum-deeply-concened-about.html#more
112. Joint alternative report from the Sri Lankan NGO Collective to the Committee Against Torture, 14 October 2011, §59-65; Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice,
Toothlessnees, 18 February 2012, http://blog.srilankacampaign.org/2012/02/toothlessness.html
113. Law
��
and Society Trust, Letter to the National Human Rights Commission, 2 August 2011, http://www.lawandsocietytrust.org/PDF/ruki%20letter%20to%20hrc%20
chair-02august2011-follow%20up%20to%20civil%20society%20forum.pdf
114. Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, Still seeking justice in Sri Lanka, Rule of Law, the Criminal justice system and commissions of inquiry since 1977, January 2010
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
and the LTTE in the north and east of the country and by the violent confrontation of Governmental forces against Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP, the People’s Liberation Front), a Sinhalese party from the south which sought to overturn
the Government. Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions reached considerable heights. Several successive commissions of inquiry were set up in the 1990s to end criticism from the international community. However, the
Commissions were never able to work credibly because of their mandate and the way in which they were run: limited
timeframe to prevent investigation into a large number of crimes, closed sessions, confidentiality of the final report, etc.
Some commissions tried to work effectively but did not have any impact because of the total lack of political
will to combat impunity. The work of several Commissions of Inquiry set up in 1994 and 1998 highlighted the
existence of torture centres operated by the police and the army across the country and the existence of dozens
of mass graves. Accounts of escapees identified those responsible. The Commissions submitted a confidential
report to the President of the Republic containing a list of names of those presumed to be responsible, firmly
asking for prosecutions. Part of the report was leaked to the press and public opinion seized on it. However, no
significant steps were taken following these Commissions’ recommendations. To date, a number of mass graves
have never been inspected or unearthed. Those designated responsible are still working or have been promoted.
Others have retired without ever being worried by justice.
In May 2011 demonstrations broke out in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Katunayake. Law enforcement agencies
repressed this movement using excessive force and firing live rounds at the demonstrators and killing one. Confronted by media coverage of this event, the President of the Republic set up a Commission composed of only one
man to investigate. At the beginning of August 2011 the report was submitted to the President of the Republic.
Despite demands, the report has still not been released and no prosecution has been initiated.
2009-2011: the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission
(LLRC): a biased and unsuitable commission for delivering
justice to victims
Since 2009 international attention has focused on the need to investigate crimes committed during the final
phase of the conflict. The international community called for an independent international inquiry into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Refusing to set up such an inquiry, the Sri Lankan President of the Republic appointed his own commission
in May 2010: the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). “If elements indicating that war
crimes were committed surface, we will examine them [...]. We should recommend to the competent authorities in penal matters to investigate”, the Chairman of the Commission declared in 2010115. Very quickly,
this promise was revealed to be an empty shell. From its creation, the Commission was strongly criticised.
Observers considered that it was just about gaining time to reduce international pressure about war crimes
without intending to establish the accountability of the armed forces.
Its mandate, composition and methodology were unsuitable for delivering justice to victims. The Commission was mandated to identify the causes of the conflict and suggest ways to encourage reconciliation. It did
not have the power to investigate the violations committed or recommend criminal prosecutions for those
responsible in the justice system. Under pressure, the Government did extend its mandate to abuses committed during the war.
Its composition and its lack of independence were criticised because of the particular presence of a former
Attorney General and a former ambassador who had fiercely defended the Sri Lankan Government against any
allegations of war crimes.
During its first session on the ground, the Chairman made no reference to human rights violations. He asked
witnesses to “forget the past” and to raise any problems about access to education, medical treatment and
housing116. Members’ questions and remarks showed bias by removing the responsibility of Governmental
forces when witnesses raised allegations related to illegal executions, enforced disappearances, the bombing of civilian targets such as hospitals and the use of civilians as a human shield. The Commission concentrated on violations committed by the LTTE. Witnesses were not encouraged to come forward and give their
accounts or provide details about the violations they were subjected do during sessions. The absence of
witness protection was criticised.
115. L’Express.fr, 11 August 2010, Sri Lanka launches its Commission to investigate the civil war. http://www.lexpress.fr/actualites/2/le-sri-lanka-lance-sa-commission-denquete-sur-la-guerre-civile_911827.html
116. See the transcript of the session on 14 August 2010: http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/August2010/District_Secys_Office-Vavuniya-14.08.2010.pdf
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Numerous international NGOs considered that the Commission was not a credible body for establishing accountability and delivering justice to victims117. In March 2011 the UN Panel of Experts charged with investigating war crimes during the conflict also recommended that the UN Secretary General set up an independent
international inquiry body, considering that the Commission was “deeply flawed, does not meet international
standards for an effective accountability mechanism and, therefore, does not and cannot satisfy the joint
commitment of the President of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General to an accountability process”118.
The Commission’s final report was released in December 2011. Unsurprisingly, it cleared the army of war
crimes and crimes against humanity committed at the end of the conflict, particularly targeting civilians and
not supplying them with food and medicines. It did not recommend establishing accountability as regards
the Government or the military119.
In February 2012, ten days before the opening of a session of the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka announced the creation of a military tribunal composed of five people which would investigate allegations of
war crimes committed by the armed forces120. This appeared to be a new tactic to gain more time faced with
international pressure121. However, in March 2012 the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution exhorting Sri Lanka to prosecute the presumed authors of the war crimes committed during the conflict, judging
that the conclusions of the Commission were not sufficient.
3. The difficulty of gathering medical proof in cases of torture
A forensic report is very important if a court is to recognise the facts of torture. Several cases show that judges
do not necessarily request a medical examination when the victim is brought before the court, even if his physical
state suggests that he has been subjected to acts of torture or ill-treatment. Further, victims who request one
are often refused.
ACAT met Judicial Medical Officers (JMO) who expressed some concern about doctors’ lack of resources, gaps
in training and pressure from law enforcement agencies towards some doctors.
A JMO is charged with performing a medical examination and questioning a patient when admitted to hospital
following suspicious injuries. The JMO fills outs a Medico-Legal Examination Form which notes injuries, provides
details of the patient’s allegations as to their cause, assesses the circumstances in which they took place and
provides his conclusions. A copy of this document is then given to the police. It is sent to the court if the medical
examination takes place during legal proceedings. The JMO can subsequently be called to testify as an expert
before the court. The JMO also acts as a medical examiner in the case of a suspicious death. He carries out an
autopsy and provides a post-mortem report.
Lack of human and material resources
There is a lack of specialists with 50 JMOs in 2012 serving a population of more than 20 million. 7 of the 25
districts do not have a forensic department.
Doctors complain of a glaring lack of resources to perform medical examinations and autopsies, hindering the
gathering of medical proof in the cases of torture victims. Numerous elementary tools and equipment are missing122. They can be forced to buy them with their own personal resources. For example, doctors told ACAT that
they had to use their own cameras, when they have one, for their forensic examinations. They say that they lack
computers, UV lamps to identify bruises on dark skin, beds, etc. In terms of post-mortem examination, doctors
note that in several district general hospitals there are not even any refrigerated units to conserve bodies or they
117. See in particular Amnesty International, When will they get justice? Failures of Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, September 2011, http://
www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA37/008/2011/en/76ea6500-a9f5-4946-bf2b-7fc08bc5e37a/asa370082011en.pdf; International Crisis group, Reconciliation in
Sri Lanka: Harder than Ever (July 2011), http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka/209%20Reconciliation%20in%20Sri%20Lanka%20-%20
Harder%20than%20Ever.pdf; Human Rights Watch, Sri Lanka: Report Fails to Advance Accountability, 16 December 2011, http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/16/srilanka-report-fails-advance-accountability
118. UN
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Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, March 2011, p 96
119. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, November 2011: http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201112/FINAL%20
LLRC%20REPORT.pdf; see also press releases from Amnesty International “Sri Lanka report falls short”, 16 December 2011 http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/
press-releases/sri-lanka-report-falls-short-2011-12-16 and Human Rights Watch, Sri Lanka: Report Fails to Advance Accountability, 16 December 2011 http://www.hrw.
org/news/2011/12/16/sri-lanka-report-fails-advance-accountability
120. BBC, 15 February 2012, Sri Lankan army to investigate civilian war casualties: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17049760
121. Human Rights Watch, 15 February 2012, Sri Lanka: Army Inquiry a Delaying Tactic. http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/15/sri-lanka-army-inquiry-delaying-tactic
122. See the suggestions made by the JMOs in 2011 and circulated by the AHRC in its annual report, see the article “Development Proposal of the Medico-legal Service
in Sri Lanka” http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-011-2011/at_download/file
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
do not work, there is no water or electricity and doctors do not have gowns to carry out autopsies. They consider
that the budget allocated by the State is more than insufficient and that the Government does not consider this
field to be a priority.
Failures in procedure
Further, doctors raise several gaps in forensic procedure. On the one hand, the police often torture a suspect and
present another person to the doctor using the identity of the first. Doctors recognise that they note the name
and address of the patient without always checking his ID card or making the patient sign or taking fingerprints.
The real victim therefore has no way of contesting before a court the identity of the patient who was examined.
On the other hand, doctors indicate that the psychological dimension of torture is not taken into account during the examination of the victim. Their examination is limited to observing physical injuries. Further, they consider that, despite
some progress, forensic documents are not suitable for cases of torture. The examination forms and forensic reports
are used as much for victims of road accidents and assaults or people who have taken drugs as torture victims. Their
format means that it is not possible to re-transcribe the examination of a torture patient appropriately.
Finally, even if legally nothing seems to prevent it, practice shows that most victims cannot obtain a copy of the
Medico-Legal Examination Form directly from the doctor. JMOs indicate that they send a Medico-Legal Report to
the court and it is then up to the victim’s lawyer to access a copy.
Doctors say that torture victims do not always know where to go and can be afraid of going to hospital, fearing
that they will be arrested again. Medical examinations can be performed long after the event, complicating identification of bruises or physical injuries which might have disappeared.
They note that forensic work in districts where they are not established is done by unspecialised doctors. Their
lack of training and qualifications prevents a victim from receiving a proper examination and medical report. They
note, for example, that there have been no JMOs in the north and east provinces for more than ten years.
Pressure on doctors from law enforcement agencies
Doctors also point to connivance and pressure from law enforcement agencies, often in rural areas, in order to
falsify medical documents and conceal acts of torture. Accounts from victims confirm the complicity of some
doctors. Sisil Weerasinghe, tortured in December 2011 at a police station, was taken by his torturers to be examined because of a fracture to his hands and significant pain related to the blows received in custody. In the
presence of his torturers, he explained what he had been subjected to and the pain he was suffering. He says that
the doctor ignored his account and refused to provide him with medicines or medical treatment123.
One victim ACAT met said that he had been admitted to Kandy hospital in May 2011 to be treated because of his
state of health after being tortured by the police: “When the JMO questioned me I told him exactly what had happened, that I had been tortured by the Teldeniya police officers. I gave the names of the officers. But I noticed that
he had noted that I was attacked by unidentified people. I think that he deliberately wanted to protect these police
officers and acted in violation of his professional duty”124.
Despite many similar cases, the Sri Lanka Medical Council closes its eyes to these problems. There has only been
one case of a disciplinary sanction against a JMO who colluded with the police in a case of torture. Dr W.R. Piyasoma had examined a man brought in by the police who had died shortly afterwards due to the acts of torture
inflicted in custody. The Medical Council considered that he had contributed indirectly to his death and that he had
failed in his duty by examining the suspect in the presence of the police officers, including neither the patient’s
detailed account or the names of the suspected torturers, not diagnosing the serious injuries and only noting minor
lesions, and finally by not recommending that he be admitted to hospital. In its decision, the Medical Council said
that it was “convinced that it should take steps [….] to erase the name of Dr W.R. Piyasoma from the register permanently” 125. Yet surprisingly, the Council decided to suspend the doctor for three years only, taking into account
his age and “that this is the first occasion a complaint of this nature has come before this committee”126.
123. AHRC, Sri Lanka: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police, 19 January 2012 http://www.humanrights.asia/
news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-003-2012
124. Interview with ACAT, 7 July 2011 in Kandy
125. Read the decision of the Sri Lanka Medical Council’s Professional Conduct Committee, Mullakandage Amitha Priyanthi VS. Dr. W.R. Piyasoma, 26 July 2007 on the
NGO Janasansadaya’s website :http://www.janasansadaya.org/page.php?id=119&lang=en
126. Ibid
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
4. Threats and assassinations of plaintiffs
Currently, there is no legal mechanism to ensure protection for victims and witnesses who take part in the justice
process in Sri Lanka. A draft law was introduced in Parliament in 2009 but has never been discussed in session
thus far, despite the repeated recommendations of the UN and NGOs.
In the absence of a protection programme, the judicial process can become paralysed. Torture victims are often
reticent about complaining, fearing for their safety or that of their families. Trials for acts of torture often last
many years, allowing the pressure put on victims and witnesses to grow. Many victims withdraw their complaints
during the process. They can be subjected to all kinds of pressure if their case manages to progress and their torturers feel threatened. They can suggest an out-of-court settlement, offering money in exchange for withdrawing
the complaint. Victims are inclined to give in because of the very long and difficult legal system. In some cases,
which have received media coverage, authorities at the highest level can intervene to offer compensation. This
kind of approach can serve to encourage victims and their families not to continue the legal process. Following
confrontations between the police and demonstrators in the Free Trade Zone in May 2011, the family of Roshan
Chanaka Rathnasekara, who was killed during the events, was offered a million rupees (more than €6,000) compensation by the Presidential Secretariat. However, the family said that such compensation should not prevent
proceedings against the State officials responsible for the violence committed.
Over and beyond financial propositions, harassment, threats and intimidation are common. The wife of a torture
victim told ACAT that she had gone to the police station where her husband was detained in Kandy in May 2011 to
enquire about his situation. Seeing her husband and the bruises and lesions caused by the blows he had received,
she wanted to lodge a complaint but one of the police officers threatened her, saying that not only could he hit
her husband with impunity; he could also kill him if he so wanted.
Several cases show that torturers might go so far as to assassinate plaintiffs. On 11 February 2012 Ramasamy
Prabakaran was kidnapped in the middle of the street two days before a hearing before the Supreme Court which
was going to examine his complaint about torture. As the Tamil businessman was going home with his wife and
his daughter, seven men armed with assault rifles and pistols appeared and took him away by force in the middle
of the day in a white van. No witnesses intervened. Prabakaran had been arrested in May 2009 and detained for
28 months on suspicion of belonging to the LTTE. During questioning, he had been severely tortured by senior
police officers. He was released in September 2011 because of insufficient proof against him and all the charges
had been dropped. Prabakaran had then lodged a complaint for violation of his fundamental rights (a Fundamental Rights Petition). The hearing of the Supreme Court was scheduled for 13 February 2012. He is still missing.
Two other similar but older cases remain emblematic in Sri Lanka: Gerald Perera and Sugath Nishanta Fernando
were killed for complaining about their torturers. Tortured by the police in Colombo in June 2002, Gerald Perera
was killed in the street in broad daylight a week before the trial began in November 2004. The process for acts
of torture was still in progress ten years after the facts, as was the trial for his murder, eight years later, another
illustration of the inability of the Sri Lankan legal system to respond to serious violations. Sugath Nishantha
Fernando had lodged a Fundamental Rights Application before the Supreme Court after being tortured by eleven
police officers from Negombo in 2007. He was threatened with death by the police officers if he did not withdraw
his complaint and was finally killed in the middle of the street in September 2008. No serious investigation was
ever conducted to identify those responsible for his murder.
The current context shows that fear seems to get the upper hand and that people who agree to testify in sensitive
cases are increasingly rare. NGOs have told ACAT of the creation of informal security groups within communities.
They represent a network of solidarity between members of the family, neighbours and the victim to protect a torture victim in the absence of formal protection. If law enforcement officers go to the victim’s home, the network
is charged with inquiring the situation, identifying the officers and warning local human rights organisations so
that they can take over in the event of threats127.
The absence of legal protection for witnesses and victims illustrates a serious problem in the Sri Lankan legal
system. Criminal justice cannot operate if witnesses do not want to testify before a court.
127. Interview
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with ACAT, 4 July 2011
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
5. No effective justice before the High Court and the Supreme Court
The legal procedure for torture cases comes under the High Court or the Supreme Court.
a. The High Court
According to the CAT Act, the High Court is the competent jurisdiction in terms of torture. The torture victim appears at the request of the Attorney general’s office to testify against the police.
Despite the considerable number of complaints about torture, and at least sixty indictments, in the 18 years since
the CAT Act came into force the High Court has only passed four convictions128. The factors set out earlier partly
explain the problem for victims in reaching the sentencing stage. The High Court’s practice highlights other problems in the justice system.
Sri Lankan courts are overloaded with a large number of cases which impacts on how judges handle their
caseloads. In 2011 press articles reported that one magistrate had delivered 206 verdicts in criminal cases,
mostly convictions, in one day. In another jurisdiction, 80 verdicts were ruled by a in one day129. Although these
examples may appear anecdotal, they betray rushed justice.
Trials for torture can last years. They are constantly interrupted and hearings are delayed to a later date. A trial before the High Court can last from four to ten years. Because of this delay, no fewer than six or seven different judges
can lead hearings before the trial reaches a conclusion. The magistrate in charge of sentencing will not necessarily
have attended the entire trial or have been able to hear witnesses. He must content himself with the minutes of the
hearings and the written documents enclosed with the files. Some decisions suggest that the judge has read neither
the file nor the transcript of hearings. In one emblematic case, that of Lalith Rajapkse, detailed medical proof and
a medical report had been examined by Negombo High Court. It observed that the victim had suffered numerous
physical consequences including injuries to his foot. The victim had also testified during the hearing. However, the
judge bizarrely decided that there was no proof supporting the allegation of blows to the foot.
The justice system is unfavourable for most plaintiffs as they come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
They cannot pay their lawyers for each appearance. Sri Lanka’s legal aid mechanism does not work efficiently
and does not necessarily waive fees and the costs of justice for the destitute. The money paid by the legal aid
to lawyers can be derisory. The length of the trial and the repeated number of appearances lead the plaintiffs to
abandon the legal procedure in progress.
Jurisprudence as regards torture from the High Court shows real discrepancy concerning the interpretation of
the definition of torture. This can differ widely from one judge to another. Magistrates have judged that injuries
inflicted by police officers to those in custody did not constitute torture when the purpose of those acts was not
to obtain a confession. Given the difficulties in achieving a trial before the High Court, torture victims have tended
to turn towards the Supreme Court.
128. Madiliyawatte
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Jayalathge ThilakarathnaJayalath (HC case No 9775/1999, Colombo High Court, HCM 19.01.2004); Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri
Lanka v. Edirisinghe (HC case no 1392/2003, Colombo High Court, HCM 20.08.2004); Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka v. Selvin Selle and
another (HC no 966/2002, Colombo High Court, HCM 20.07.2007); See also judgment of the High Court of Kurunegalain Wijeratne case on 26.01.2012
129. Lankanewspapers, 8 August 2011, Judges Trying to Become Joker Superstars: Sri Lanka will soon become Kolamka?” http://www.lankanewspapers.com/
news/2011/8/69633_space.html.
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
b. The Supreme Court and Fundamental Rights cases
The Supreme Court can be used if a fundamental right provided for in the Constitution has been violated, such as
the right not to be tortured (Article 11). The victim only has thirty days following the alleged violation to exercise
this constitutional right. The Supreme Court does not have the power to criminally judge the author. However, it
can rule that a fundamental right violation has occurred and order compensation.
Ranjit Sumangala, tortured for several days by the Mirihana police in December 2010, turned to the Supreme Court.
Although he was constantly threatened by his torturers to withdraw his complaint, on 30 May 2011 the Supreme Court
considered that the complaint was admissible and ordered the arrest and detention of the police officers accused if they
continued to put pressure on the victim130.
However, such decisions have become rare. “Cases of fundamental rights violations developed considerably in
the past but ten years ago the situation changed”, says one lawyer appearing at the Supreme Court and questioned by ACAT. “The number of cases has dropped considerably. It is a consequence of the policy introduced by
Sarath Silva (former Chief Justice from 1999 to 2009) which marked a backward step. There is strong political
interference in the work of the Supreme Court which is clearly manipulated by the Government”131.
According to Sri Lankan lawyers representing victims before the Supreme Court, it has become difficult to obtain
a notice to proceed in a petition for torture. A study of the jurisprudence of the Court noted a marked decline
from 2005 in both the number of complaints of torture which were granted a leave to proceed and those who
were ruled in favour of the victim by the Supreme Court132. Plaintiffs indicate that most petitions are not granted
a leave to proceed without any reason provided. Practice tends to show that the Court, before even examining
the leave to proceed, presents the case to the Attorney general office and makes a decision based uniquely on
the opinion of the latter.
In August 2010 the Supreme Court rejected the complaint of the family of Sunil Hemachandra who died in police
custody in 2003. The family had noted numerous bruises on his body, as had a doctor who had corroborated the
allegations of torture. A preliminary investigation conducted by a magistrate also supported this theory. However,
the Attorney general decided that there was insufficient proof and the case was withdrawn. At the Supreme
Court, judges concluded that death was very certainly the consequence of a fall due to alcohol withdrawal, using
only the remarks made by the Attorney General without any other proof or additional investigation133.
In this case the Court gave its decision in August 2010, nearly seven years after the process began. As in other
petitions, a torture case can last for many years which discourages victims from beginning proceedings and allows torturers to pressure the victim, often successfully, to compromise and withdraw the case, particularly if
the victim is still in detention.
Decisions of the Supreme Court recognising a violation of Article 11 of the Constitution do not have an impact
and are not implemented. The Court has recognised the responsibility of State officials in acts of torture but no
criminal proceedings have then been opened or disciplinary sanctions taken. These torturers are still working or
have even been promoted134. The Supreme Court no longer offers effective justice for torture victims.
130. Janasansadaya,Mirihana Police -Torture Chamber Case: Court grants leave to proceed, 30 May 2011
http://www.janasansadaya.org/page.php?id=400&lang=en
131. Interview
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with ACAT, 4 July 2011 in Colombo
132. Kishali
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Pinto Jayawardena and Lisa Kois, Sri Lanka, the Right not to be tortured, a critical analysis of the Judicial Response, Law and Society Trust, p9 (2008)
133. Judgment
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of 5 August 2010, S.C. (F/R) No. 429/2003, Guneththige Misilin Nona & another Vs Muthubanda, Police Constable- Moragahahena & 4 others,: http://
www.supremecourt.lk/images/documents/SCFRNo.429-2003.06.08.2010.pdf
134. Kishali
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Pinto Jayawardena, The rule of law in decline, study on prevalence, determinants and causes of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment in Sri Lanka, 2009, p 167
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
6. Compensation and rehabilitation
Sri Lankan legislation does not provide for compensation for torture victims within the framework of the criminal
process. Only the Supreme Court can grant it for cases where fundamental rights have been violated. No legal
provisions define a scale of compensation. The amount depends on the discretionary power of the judge and,
over the last few years, it has tended to be increasingly low. The amount of compensation granted by the Court
has varied considerably from one case to another, ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 Sri Lankan rupees (approximately €30 to €600) in very rare cases.
Further, compensation is not always paid to the victims, even when the Supreme Court expressly orders the
defendant to pay it. The Police Department has set up a compensation fund that torturer police officers can use,
limiting the dissuasive effect of a court decision.
The law is equally silent on rehabilitation. Currently, there is no specific governmental programme to pay for
medical treatment, psychotherapy and social rehabilitation for victims of torture. NGOs alone have taken the initiative to develop this kind of assistance.
7. Alternative remedies: international bodies
Sri Lanka has recognised the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee to examine individual complaints
since 1998 but it refuses to recognise the Committee Against Torture. Many plaintiffs turn to Geneva to submit
their complaint because of problems in the Sri Lankan justice system. The Human Rights Committee has declared
a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in more than a dozen cases, including several
concerning acts of torture135. In October 2011 the Committee gave its decision concerning the torture and murder
of Sugath Nishantha Fernando. It considered that Sri Lanka had violated the right of the victim and his family to
obtain compensation.136
However, none of these decisions has been implemented by the Sri Lankan authorities. In 2005 the Government indicated that it could not implement the recommendations of the Committee in one case, considering that
it interfered with the Sri Lankan judiciary. This reaction was followed by jurisprudence from the Supreme Court
in Singarasa case137 which considered that signature of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, through which Sri Lanka recognises the competence of the Human Rights Committee,
was unconstitutional. Subsequently Sri Lanka has no longer cooperated with the Human Rights Committee to
implement its recommendations. Submission to the jurisdiction of this Committee is now only theoretical without
national impact.
The collapse of the rule of law system and the denial of justice have placed victims in a critical situation. Impunity
prevails in Sri Lanka and can only encourage the torture practice and unlawful action by law enforcement agencies.
Facing this wall of injustice, the civil society has tried to develop initiatives to prevent torture and obtain justice.
135. See the views expressed by the Human Rights Committee on communications from Sri Lanka compiled on the Asian Legal Resource Centre website (www.alrc.net).
136. Communication
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1862/2009. Human Rights Committee decision 17 October 2011-Ref. CCPR/3/103/D1862/2009
137. See the Human Rights Committee View, the Supreme court judgment and academic articles on the Singarasa case on http://www.ruleoflawsrilanka.org/resources/
Document%20relating%20to%20the%20Singarasa%20Case.doc/at_download/file
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
Civil society activism
Sri Lankan civil society is active in many areas. In terms of promoting human rights, NGOs are actively involved in
fighting the prevailing impunity as regards torture. ACAT met several NGOs to study their work and their activism
against torture. It can be broken down into the following categories:
Support for victims
Legal assistance
A number of NGOs help victims lodge a complaint. They gather accounts and help them to file a complaint to the police
and the National Human Rights Commission. They can also present their case to the Inspector General of Police or the
National Police Commission. Because of the failure of the legal aid system provided by the State, some NGOs try, within
their means, to provide financial aid to the indigent individuals who manage to appeal. Others work with independent
lawyers who will represent victims in court. They support victims in their fundamental rights petition before the Supreme
Court in order to try to obtain compensation for the victim.
Most victims remain silent though and do not take assistance from the Sri Lankan organisations through fear or because
they consider that there is no point complaining.Despite their intervention, NGOs also face a wall of impunity and a lack
of political willing to prosecute and judge the presumed authors of torture. They can then help victims submit their case
to international bodies such as the UN Human Rights Committee.
Security
Because of the threats which hang over victims or their families who are seeking to obtain justice and the lack of a State
protection programme, some NGOs try to protect plaintiffs during the trial.
As discussed in the report (see Chapter 3/IV Threats and Assassinations of Plaintiffs), NGOs have told ACAT of the establishment of informal security groups within communities: a network of solidarity between members of the family,
neighbours and the victim to ensure informal protection for the victim. If law enforcement members come to the victim’s
home, the network is charged with inquiring the situation, identifying the officials and warning local human rights organisations so that they can take over in the event of threats.
Other NGOs try to protect victims who are seriously threatened by offering temporary shelters where their safety will be
ensured.
Medical and psychological assistance
Due to the absence of a public rehabilitation policy for torture victims, several NGOs have developed programmes to
provide medical and psychological assistance. Several organisations introduced a psychotherapy project, the testimony
therapy, in 2008. It is a process through which victims relives their traumatic experiences during sessions led by a
therapist who will record their accounts in writing. It will generally be followed by a testimonial ceremony which should
allow victims to renew ties with their community and society which had been broken by the trauma of torture. The victim’s account is read publicly during a ceremony mixing traditional and religious rites.138
138. For more information about testimony therapy: IRCT, Torture Journal, Volume 19, No. 3, 2009, Testimonial therapy: A Pilot Project to improve Psychological Wellbeing
among Survivors of Torture in India by Inger Agger, Lenin Raghuvanshi, Shirin Shabana Khan, Peter Polatin, Laila K. Laursen; See also Chitral Perera and Shyamali
Puvimanasinghe &Inger Agger, Giving Voice to the Voiceless : Using Testimony as a Brief Therapy Intervention in Psychosocial Community Work for Survivors of
Torture and Organised Violence, A Manual for Community Workers and Human Rights Activists in Sri Lanka, by (2009)
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
Research and awareness raising among the public
This support to victims enables NGOs to collect information and analyse the practice of torture, as well as the political
and legal obstacles faced by victims. This research is published in order to raise awareness among the public about this
phenomenon. Training sessions can be organised for lawyers, doctors and human rights activists. Workshops are held
by a few NGOs with representatives from the institutions concerned in order to encourage them to reform or change their
practices. Education programmes are held in some schools to raise awareness among children about human rights.
Street demonstrations can be organised to denounce the use of torture, particularly around 26th June, the International
Day Against Torture.
Advocacy
The NGOs involved in promoting human rights try to promote the prevention and repression of torture by the authorities.
Some dare to use the international sphere to advocate about these issues, despite attacks or threats from the Government against civil society. Nine Sri Lankan NGOs submitted a joint report to the Committee Against Torture in 2011 and
the UN Human Rights Committee has received more than a dozen complaints.
47
48
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
CHAPITRE 4. RECOMMENDATIONS
TO THE SRI LANKAN AUTHORITIES
JUDICIAL GUARANTEES FOR DETAINED PERSONS
• E
nsure that all persons placed in detention are incarcerated in an official location and that their families and lawyers are immediately notified of the reason for their arrest and the place of their detention.
• Ensure that all persons placed in detention can immediately and regularly contact their families and
a lawyer of their choice, request an independent medical examination and benefit the assistance of
an interpreter if necessary during detention.
• Ensure that all persons placed in detention are informed of their rights upon their arrest.
• Ensure legal representation for arrested persons through the implementation of the new gazette
notification allowing the lawyers to represent detainees at police stations as a matter of right.
Proper implementation would necessitate a free legal service providing such representation to the
indigent people.
• Ensure that all persons placed in detention are brought promptly before a judge to review the legal
basis for the arrest and whether remand is indeed necessary and to prevent the violation of their
fundamental rights.
• Exclude from all judicial procedures statements obtained under torture so that they can in no case
be used as evidence.
FORENSIC SERVICES
• Ensure the effective independence of the Judicial Medical Officers (JMO).
• Set up a procedure obliging the doctor performing the forensic examination to check the victim’s
identity.
• Provide members of the forensic services with the training, equipment and material needed to
carry out effective examinations in cases of torture.
• Ensure the confidentiality of the meeting when a suspect is accompanied by police officers.
• Guarantee that JMOs submit their reports within an appropriate allotted time.
• Sanction JMOs who are complicit in concealing acts of torture or ill-treatment.
PROSECUTIONS AND REFORM OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
• G
uarantee official practice reflecting the political willing to prosecute and punish State officials
who are responsible for acts of torture or abuse with due process.
• Reform the justice system to guarantee the independence of justice.
• Reduce trials delay and end the present practice of recurrent postponement of trials, with intervals
of many months in between, by re-introducing the practice of hearing a trial from the beginning to
the end once a trial starts.
• Ensure effective implementation of visits of magistrates to police stations by a system of periodic
visits to monitor the legality of detention and the questioning of the persons detained.
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
• E
nsure that magistrates question persons brought from a place of detention about their condition,
in the absence of police officers, so as to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the
detainee. Ensure that magistrates require an independent medical examination even if the person
does not request it and order such an examination if a person or his lawyer alleges acts of torture
or abuse.
• Require an independent investigation if the judge has reasons to think that acts of torture have
been committed.
• Put an end to the current practice of political interference with the Attorney General’s department
and ensure the Attorney General’s accountability to act independently.
• Prosecute authors of torture within a reasonable time, as well as their accomplices or instigators
by taking into account the chain of command and possible hierarchical responsibilities.
• Set up a specialised unit for inquiries and prosecution including staff with training in torture cases
and allocated with sufficient resources.
• Bring to justice all those presumed responsible for these acts in compliance with international
standards regarding fair trials.
POLICE, ARMY AND PRISON ADMINISTRATION
• P
revent any politicisation of these administrations and provide them with adequate personnel and
material resources.
• Remove from their positions any officers suspected of torture and ill-treatment until the allegations
concerning them can be subject to an independent and impartial investigation.
• Set up an independent and effective body to investigate allegations of torture and abuse committed
by the police, the army or the prison administration.
• Promote the recruitment of Tamil or Tamil-speaking officers, particularly within the Police Department and in areas where the majority population is Tamil.
• Set up comprehensive training sessions on the prevention of torture, ill-treatment and human
rights for members of the Police Department, the army and the prison administration.
• Place the police department under a civilian authority instead of the Ministry of Defence and promote an efficient and modernized criminal investigation system.
• Demilitarise law and order maintaining missions.
• Guarantee conditions of detention in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners.
• Set up a renovation project for prison infrastructure and give the prison administration sufficient
resources.
• Encourage release on bail and alternative sentences to imprisonment.
• Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment of Punishment and guarantee an independent monitoring body for places of detention
allocated with the necessary resources to organise scheduled and surprise visits and inspections
with free, unhindered access to all places of detention, including those under the army jurisdiction.
• Allow human rights organisations to access places of detention.
REHABILITATION OF VICTIMS
• E
nsure that all victims of torture and ill-treatment can receive compensation, ensuring in particular
that any compensation announced is consistent and actually paid to victims.
• Set up rehabilitation services for victims of torture and members of their families.
49
50
SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
LEGAL REFORMS
• E
nsure constitutional and other legal reforms to end the politicization of public institutions and to
make the administration of justice independent.
• Introduce into Sri Lankan law the crime of enforced disappearance.
• Adopt the victims and witnesses protection law and set up an effective protection mechanism.
• Substantially amend or repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act to bring Sri Lankan law into compliance with its international obligations.
• Protect human rights defenders
• End all forms of harassment, intimidation and threats towards human rights defenders.
• Ensure their protection in order for them to carry out their human rights activities freely and without hindrance.
• Respect the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General
Assembly on 9 December 1998.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
• P
romptly implement all the recommendations of the UN Committee Against Torture submitted in
November 2011 as well as those of the Special Rapporteurs, particularly the Special Rapporteur
on torture.
• Recognize the competence of the UN Committee Against Torture to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals alleging a violation of the Convention.
• Implement the decisions delivered by the UN Human Rights Committee following the communications submitted by Sri Lankan citizens concerning the violation of their rights.
• Cooperate with the UN Committees and remove any obstacle created by the Singarasa case judgment of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
• Implement the recommendations made during the Universal Periodic Review in 2008.
A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE . SRI LANKA
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ommission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, report, November 2011
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statement by the leader of the delegation of Sri Lanka, 8 November 2011
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
• International Commission of Jurists, submission to the Committee against Torture on the examination of the combined third
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SRI LANKA . A STUDY OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE
About ACAT-France and ALRC
ACAT-France
The Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France) is a human rights organisation, based
in Paris, founded in 1974 and a recognized public-interest foundation. Basing its action on international law,
ACAT-France fights against torture, capital punishment and for the protection of all victims through a network
of 35,000 members. Its actions in France focus on the conditions of detention as well as the protection of
refugee rights. 30 ACATs in the world are affiliated to the International Federation of the Action by Christians
for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT)
Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is a regional human rights NGO based in Hong Kong. ALRC is a
sister organization of Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). They were founded in 1986 by a prominent
group of jurists and human rights activists in Asia, and are committed to the development of legal self-reliance
and empowerment of people. They conduct research concerning human rights from the perspective of the
functioning of states’ institutions of the rule of law and justice delivery mechanisms, issue reports and conduct
local and international advocacy with the aim of protecting human rights and combating impunity across Asia.
Acknowledgments
ACAT-France thanks every organization and individuals who accepted to be interviewed during its mission
in Sri Lanka in June and July 2011. Its acknowledgments include in particular the organisations Right to
Life, Janasansadaya, Home of Torture Victims, Gampaha District Citizen Committee for Human Rights,
SETIK, Rule of Law Forum.
Three years after the end of the conflict between governmental forces and
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, when arbitrariness prevails provides an
overview of the phenomenon of torture in Sri Lanka using the testimony of the
victims and the actors involved. The use of torture and ill-treatment remains
ACAT-France is a human rights organization founded in 1974 to fight against torture anywhere around the world. It raises awareness
in the public opinion and calls on to act for all victims, regardless their ethnicity, ideology and religion. ACAT-France also works to
abolish capital punishment and protect victims, particularly by defending the right to seek asylum.
www.acatfrance.fr Photography : LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP - Graphic design : [email protected]
routine, and daily, the impunity of authors of torture is generalised.

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